5 Major Shifts in Online Holiday Shopping Behaviour This Season

COVID-19 pandemic changed the way we work, spend our free time, and shop. Talking about shopping behavior, both big companies and small retail stores are adapting as well. Most of them are offering same-day shipping to deliver products to the consumers faster and trying new services such as curtsied pickups.

This year’s holiday shopping will be much different. According to data, people already started holiday shopping and looking for gifts for beloved ones. Here are five shifts in holiday shopping behavior…

Monthlong Black Friday and Cyber Monday

This year shoppers are concern about prices like never before due to tighter budgets. For example, as of the end of August, over 25% of the U.S. shoppers said that they’ve already started shopping and looking for the best deals. Not to mention, in June, there was a 60% increase in searches related to “best affordable” on Google.

Welcome new Digital Shoppers

More people starting to use digital platforms such as Facebook, Google, and Amazon to shop for deals online for the first time. Over 50% of surveyed shoppers tried new shopping tools for the first time. In addition, back in May, the search terms related to “best grocery delivery” skyrocketed by 700% in the last year globally.

Researching online to shop offline

Before going to the actual store, online users are doing their homework by researching products they are interested in via online platforms. Searches for “fashion online shopping” increased by 600% over the past year and as of May, there was an increase by over 100% for searches related to “available near me” compared to the last year.

Purpose-driven shoppers

Both online and offline shoppers are most likely to support local businesses that represent shoppers’ values. For example, over 45% of the surveyed U.S. shoppers indicated that “I make a deliberate effort to shop at businesses that align with my values.” In addition, a search volume for terms such as “support local businesses” have grown by 2000X over the past year globally.

Shoppers want to feel safe

While shopping online, people are comfortable buying products they need from new brands. However, shoppers are still looking for safety and familiarity. For instance, during a pandemic, almost 30% of the U.S. shoppers purchased things from the new brands. But in-store shoppers give priority to those brands they are familiar with.

There is no doubt that this year’s holiday shopping will be different and the search volume related to shopping will be increasing for the next couple of months. Feel free to explore Google’s guide on how to prepare to the busiest season of the year.