Holiday Shopping Tidbits and Forecasts

It has begun!

It's October 24th - and more than half of online shoppers have already started their Christmas shopping! Gone are the days where Black Friday kicks off the Holiday shopping season. Online shoppers have changed the retail space forever, and I like to think the savvy deal hunters and frugal experts here on Fatwallet played a major role in driving those changes.

Online shopping still on the rise

As expected, of course. Us humans are so "connected" now that we check our Facebook and Twitter before our email.

According to survey results by the National Retail Federation, it's expected that 52% of U.S. consumers will be shopping online this Christmas, up from 46.7% last year. That's more than half of the American consumer population! Way to go, Internet!

Retailers expecting higher sales

Almost half of polled online retailers are expecting higher sales this year during the Christmas and Holiday seasons. The same poll, performed by Chase Paymentech, determined that retailers are seriously committing to the social channels as well. 89% of the ones planning online marketing will be utilizing Facebook, while 70% will be using Twitter. Shoppers looking to score the best deals should stay connected with their favorite stores in both channels.

Shop.org also forecasted that online holiday spending would increase to $92-96 billion. That 12% increase is a lot of zeros - and a whole lot of Cash Back earned for the savvy shoppers.

Comparison shopping habits on the move

Unfortunately that same survey reported that only 31.4% would compare prices online, that number is down from 32.1% last year. 6% of those survey takers will do their comparative shopping using their smartphones and other mobile devices - which is up from 5.7% last year.

Mobile shopping, here to stay

Mobile is an incredibly fast growing demographic for retailers. More than 64% of tablet owners will be researching and buying online with their tablets. 52.9% of smartphone owners will do the same.

With more than half of the consumer population owning smartphones or tablets, online retailers need to put some serious effort into making their site mobile friendly and marketing their sites to mobile users.

Reader Response

Have you been shopping with your mobile device? Where and what did you buy? How was your experience?

Additional Resources

Black Friday Deals - INFOGRAPHIC
When to Buy What: January Cheat Sheet
Ultimate HDTV Buying Guide
5 Incredibly Good Reasons To Shop Online This Black Friday
A Detailed Guide to Shopping Safely Online