Adobe has released its 2015 Adobe Digital Index Online Holiday Shopping Prediction
for this year’s Christmas shopping season, defined as the entire months
of November and December. The data analysis – based on more than one
trillion visits to 4,500 retail websites over the last seven years –
predicts that UK consumers will spend £17.7 billion online this
Christmas, a 7 percent increase over the previous year.
According
to this report, the UK will have the largest peak online shopping day
in Europe with a total projected spend of £474 million on Black Friday
(27th November). On this day, the average online spend per person will be £8.06.
Online & mobile remain significant for Christmas spend
More than half (57 percent)
of Christmas shopping is predicted to be online, according to a
separate survey of 400 UK consumers. Low prices/good deals remains the
biggest driver to shop online, with over two thirds (67 percent)
of consumers ranking this among their top two motivators. Shopping
across mobile devices remains steady and, this year, it’s predicted that
almost a quarter (23 percent)
of UK Christmas shopping will occur through a smartphone or tablet.
This positions the UK as second in Europe when it comes to embracing
mobile as a way to pay at this time of year.
Keep calm &carry on shopping
There
are signs this year of consumers becoming more efficient and less
stressed about Christmas shopping thanks to purchasing online. Almost a
quarter (24 percent) of UK shoppers expect to spend less time this year searching for their perfect presents, and over a quarter (27 percent) have said they feel they have gotten more efficient at Christmas shopping.
Online shopping is consistently seen as less stressful than shopping in physical stores. Almost a quarter (24 percent) of UK consumers rated offline shopping as “extremely stressful” compared to just 6 percent for online. However, almost one in five (19 percent) people still find buying products on their mobile phone stressful.
Product reviews important for purchases
Adobe’s
report shows that product reviews have emerged as a key factor in the
customer journey. Nearly half of respondents in the UK (45 percent)
said product reviews are among the top two influences when considering a
major purchase. Social media is identified as a key component to
delivering product reviews, with more UK consumers turning to social to
find out which products are “the best” (43 percent) compared to last year (25 percent).
When will prices plummet?
Across
Europe, the Christmas shopping season is shifting as consumers turn to
online shopping increasingly more throughout the year. This is largely
driven by women, where almost a third (31 percent) plan to start shopping before 1st November this year, compared to one in five (22 percent) of women doing so last year. In the UK, early online Christmas shopping remains stable at 28 percent, but there is an indication that more people this year won’t begin until the second half of November or later.
According
to Adobe’s report, UK prices will fall gradually throughout the holiday
season, with a significant drop in the lead up to Black Friday. They
hit their lowest point towards the end of December.
“This
year’s report once again underscores the importance of the Christmas
shopping season as a driver for ecommerce across Europe, giving
consumers the ability to take advantage of low prices, retailer offers
and product variety without battling crowds on the High Street,” said Mark Zablan, President Adobe EMEA. “But
consumers aren’t just looking for the best deal, the report this year
indicates that they are increasingly looking at product reviews and
social media to guide their Christmas purchases. This is an important
insight for European retailers. They need to find ways of going beyond
deals to create meaningful opportunities to engage with consumers
throughout the customer journey that will drive them to the point of
purchase. Social media is a key channel to achieve that.”
The
Adobe Online Shopping Prediction is based on an analysis of 55 million
product SKUs, and aggregated and anonymous data of more than one
trillion visits to 4,500 retail websites over the last seven years. The
breadth of data makes it the most accurate forecast in the industry. A
separate survey of over 400 consumers in the UK was also conducted.
Share