HOLIDAY DATA INSIGHTS

The retail industry was pushed to new limits in 2020, forced to pivot to keep their doors open and keep business going as usual in a time when customers felt less than safe entering all establishments. This left many people questioning how different categories of retailers would perform when their consumer’s priorities have shifted throughout the year with waves of shutdowns and re-openings. So how did the shopping season play out for different categories of retailers? Read on for the 5 shopping changes we saw during the Holiday season:

-LUGGAGE-

-34%

Luggage Sales fall as Travel Limitations Extend into the New Year

Falling 34% for total revenue during the holiday season, luggage took the largest year over year hit. The uncertainty and lack of confidence in travel returning to normal in the coming months seemed to cause hesitation in shoppers, with the lack of use in 2020 of their luggage, to upgrade, replace or gift luggage sets.

– HOME SPENDING-

Prioritizing home-related projects and upgrades seemed to be a top priority, with home furnishings seeing a growth of 27% while home improvement saw an even larger growth of 37% during this time period. These categories saw the largest growth, which could be due to the increase in time spent at home.

37%

Home Spending is Still a High-Priority with Home Furnishings & Home Improvement

– HOME SPENDING-

37%

Home Spending is Still a High-Priority with Home Furnishings & Home Improvement

-FOOTWEAR-

-7%

Footwear sales fell with fewer places for shoppers to go.

The footwear industry saw a slight dip in year over year sales, falling 7% this year. The lack of growth could be attributed to national and local PSA’s encouraging consumers to stay home, minimizing the need for footwear.

– NUTRITIONAL-SUPPLEMENT BRANDS-

The increase in at-home workout equipment sales throughout the year did not translate into an increase in sales at nutritional-supplement-specific retailers during the Holiday season. This dip could be correlated with the consolidation of shopping trips – with more consumers looking to shop at fewer stores (link to article) and make bigger shopping purchases when they do shop (link to one below) – a statement validated by the result below.

-27%

Nutritional-Supplement Retailers Saw a Dip In Sales

– NUTRITIONAL-SUPPLEMENT BRANDS-

-27%

Nutritional-Supplement Retailers Saw a Dip In Sales

-SHOPPING HABITS-

Consumers Intent of Less & Larger Shopping Trips Did Not Resonate through the Holiday Shopping Season

Towards the beginning of COVID, consumers intended to shop less and make larger purchases when they do shop through consolidating shopping trips and buying more when they do shop. This intent did not extend through into the Holiday season, with the average transaction amount across all industries surveyed only increasing by 4%. Considering that average inflation hovers near 2%, this increase could be due to a wide variety of variables.

-WRAPPING UP THE HOLIDAY SEASON-

In a year where many businesses’ main goal was to make it through, the industries analyzed saw a total 1% dip in sales year over year. This drop in sales could be attributed to the further spread of shopping for the Holiday season, with many retailers activating Holiday promotions the day after Halloween, which some sources dubbed Orange Sunday. Looking forward to 2021, retailers can continue to look for ways to stabilize high-shopping periods by extending promotions or bringing further awareness since the days leading up to the centered day of focus can expect a dip in sales.

ABOUT THE DATA

flexEngage

Aggregating the data of over 70 retailers since launch and over 12,000 stores, flexEngage turns purchase data into meaningful engagement for brands.

The data ran compares year over year for the Tuesday immediately following Cyber Monday through the Sunday following Christmas. These dates are Tuesday, December 1, 2020, to Sunday, December 27, 2020, compared to Tuesday, December 3, 2019, to Sunday, December 29, 2020.

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