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Inflation may have forced retailers to discount deeper than they normally would, but it worked, encouraging consumers to spend their hard-earned cash on gifts and holiday treats. What lies ahead: Returns season. As customers wade through their holiday hauls, there are bound to be some items going back to the store.

Knowing that Mother鈥檚 Day isn鈥檛 the only holiday that could trigger consumers, Levain has duplicated this process for Father鈥檚 Day and remains very cautious about any holiday-related marketing. Why it matters: Consumers want to feel known and respected by the brands they do business with.

Leisure travel demand ticks up ahead of the holiday season: Airbnb, Expedia, and Booking expect reservations to accelerate in Q4.

Our take: Retailers鈥� advance planning means that the port strike is unlikely to have a significant impact on holiday inventory, although disruptions of more than a few weeks could eventually lead to shortages and higher prices for certain products, like bananas and auto parts.

Exclusive鈥擥en Zs increase holiday spending despite broader pullback in discretionary categories. What retailers need to know about 2024 (and beyond) in 5 charts. How to deal with holiday returns: Prevention, promotion, and product selection.

Why Klarna is making an omnichannel push ahead of the holidays. Early sales, BNPL use will help drive robust holiday spending growth this year. Cost concerns are top of mind for this year鈥檚 holiday shoppers. Methodology: Data is from a September 2023 Morning Consult survey as cited in company blog. 2,223 US adults ages 18+ were surveyed online during August 31-September 3, 2023.

The retail holiday is a big deal for competitors, too, with Walmart, Target, and Best Buy all hosting rival events. But Amazon will capture almost 60% of US ecommerce sales that take place during Prime Day this week. Use this chart:. Determine how many of your customers shop with Prime. Prepare for future retail holidays, including other Amazon events. More like this:.

Our view: Back-to-school may be the biggest retail holiday in Q3, but Pride presents a major opportunity for brands. Over a fifth (22.3%) of Gen Z adults identify as LGBTQ+, the highest rate of any other generation, per data from Gallup. However, brands should avoid using Pride as a once-a-year way to connect with LGBTQ+ consumers.

I guess one of the entrance ways have been done up for the holidays highlighting the store within the store. But it seems like there's more potential in the toy category than just being a seasonal idea. Sara Lebow (24:57):. On a forward-thinking note, do you guys think that Trump tariffs on Chinese goods, if they do happen, will be a particular hindrance for POP MART and other similar stores?

This year, Cyber Five ecommerce sales will account for 15.8% of the $253.71 billion in total US holiday retail ecommerce sales, per our forecast. Use this chart:. Compare Cyber Five sales from day to day. Track your brand鈥檚 results against this forecast. More like this:.

We expect total US holiday retail sales to exceed $1.3 trillion, with 19.3% of those sales coming from ecommerce. Use this chart:. Consider your in-store and ecommerce marketing mix. Start thinking about the 2024 holiday season. More like this:. Holiday season check-in: How Q4 is going and what that means for the rest of the year.

A diverse audience targeting approach is particularly effective during holidays when consumers have varied interests and gifting needs. 5. Scalability and flexibility. With the holiday season characterized by changing demands and consumer behaviors, partnerships offer scalability and flexibility.

The news: TJX reported solid results for the holiday quarter as it continues to be a major beneficiary of shoppers鈥� deal-seeking. Net sales rose 13% year over year (YoY) to $16.4 billion, outpacing FactSet鈥檚 $16.2 billion estimate. Comparable sales grew 5%, again beating expectations of a 4.3% rise. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) rose 26% YoY to $1.12, in line with expectations.

What鈥檚 new: Though Gen Zers in other studies have previously cited a lack of desire to accumulate debt to travel home for the holidays, this new study finds that just 37% of Gen Zers prioritize paying their debts off. Their debt may not have piled up enough yet for them to prioritize paying it down over other goals.

Prime Day sales growth correlates strongly with overall holiday ecommerce performance. Over the past three years, Amazon Prime Day sales growth has closely aligned with holiday season ecommerce sales growth. During the 2020 event, Prime Day鈥檚 sales growth of 42.8% YoY closely mirrored the holiday season鈥檚 38.1% increase.

Retailers turn to returnless refunds to cut costs and boost loyalty: Amazon, Walmart, and Chewy are among the companies that rely on flexible returns policies to keep shoppers in the fold.

Promotions were spread over an extended holiday calendar. Amazon鈥檚 second Prime Day-style sale in October spurred other major retailers to launch competing events around the same time. Nearly 76% of retailers surveyed by goTRG in September 2022 said they planned to start their holiday promotions earlier than in 2021. Retailers offered longer return windows for the holidays.

Prime Day sales growth correlates strongly with overall holiday ecommerce performance. Over the past three years, Amazon Prime Day sales growth has closely aligned with holiday season ecommerce sales growth. During the 2020 event, Prime Day鈥檚 sales growth of 42.8% YoY closely mirrored the holiday season鈥檚 38.1% increase.

The trend line: A growing number of holiday metrics are headed in a positive direction. Consumers are feeling (slightly) better. Consumer confidence ticked up in November after three straight monthly declines, per the The Confidence Board. More of them are shopping.

鈥淚t was not to the benefit of those traditional holiday categories.鈥�. After a strong couple of years, electronics took a hit as consumers already own those big-ticket items. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 not a replenishment-type category,鈥� Davidkhanian noted. Profits may be healthy this earnings season. Gas prices and shipping container prices were down.

The holiday strategy: It may be tempting to use AI to keep costs down during the holidays, but don鈥檛 forget about the consumers who are still wary of the technology. Make sure that customers have a variety of ways to interact with your brand, including a good old-fashioned phone call. This was originally featured in the Retail Daily newsletter.

Mobile purchases will drive holiday ecommerce growth. Key stat: US retail mcommerce holiday season sales will reach $140.65 billion this year, per our July 2024 forecast. These mobile purchases will make up for more than three-quarters (75.6%) of the net increase in holiday ecommerce sales.

Meanwhile, Target will continue to hold week-long holiday deals for the rest of the year as it tries to convince penny-pinching shoppers to boost discretionary spending. Other findings: Cyber Week鈥檚 smashing success is a clear indicator that while many consumers feel stretched financially, they remain willing to spend big during holidays and promotional events.

Google will test its new consent workflow in Chrome after the holidays. 鈥淕oogle will start testing its new consent workflow in Chrome right after the holiday season without warning,鈥� our analyst Evelyn Mitchell-Wolf predicted. Why it matters: Instead of blocking third-party cookies wholesale, Google will offer users the choice to opt in or out.

Everyday categories will capture more holiday spending as high-ticket purchases suffer. US consumers don鈥檛 lack disposable income, and they鈥檙e generally in good economic shape heading into the holidays. But they just don鈥檛 have as much need for the high-ticket items鈥攕uch as consumer electronics, furniture, and appliances鈥攖hat they splurged on during the pandemic.