Mirakl has announced the results of its 2021 Holiday Shopping Snapshot, a global survey of 9,000 respondents across nine countries, 1,000 of which were from the UK. The report found that UK shoppers will do more online festive shopping than anyone else in Europe and also begin their festive shopping earlier than any other European country or the US.
“As a result of supply chain disruptions and unpredictable product availability, global consumers are starting their holiday shopping earlier than ever before and using online shopping to avoid disappointment,” said Adrien Nussenbaum, co-founder and co-CEO of Mirakl. “The data from our Holiday Shopping Snapshot offers proof that many of the temporary behavioral changes originally brought on by the global pandemic are becoming permanent. In particular, shoppers are increasing their use of online marketplaces to help reduce costs and ensure gifts arrive on time, with marketplaces seeing the greatest gains among frequent shoppers.”
During the first UK pandemic festive shopping season in 2020, the average use of online shopping increased by 41.4 per cent, from 41 per cent in 2019 to 58 per cent a year later.
Even with high streets reopening across the country in 2021, this figure remained high at 53 per cent for the 2021 UK festive shopping season.
The increase in online shopping was also reflected in the use of online marketplaces, which has grown as shoppers 81 per cent of UK shoppers are more open to purchasing a gift through an online marketplace, compared to their counterparts in France (74 per cent), Germany (78 per cent), and the US (79 per cent). UK shoppers are also utilising marketplace offerings for an array of reasons including lower prices (55 per cent), faster delivery (47 per cent), and better selection (47 per cent).
The report provides added context on the growth of online marketplaces in the UK and across the world from the consumer’s perspective, highlighting the market opportunity for marketplace operators and businesses looking to sell through these platforms.
The survey also uncovered how the always-on nature of eCommerce, coupled with concerns over supply chain issues and potential product shortages, caused major changes to consumer behaviour heading into the 2021 festive shopping season. Almost two-thirds of Brits (64 per cent) planned to go online shopping for holiday gifts before Black Friday, with 40 per cent of respondents beginning their online festive shopping in October or earlier. Only 11 per cent of UK shoppers planned to wait until Black Friday or Cyber Monday to do their online festive shopping.
Other key findings from the survey include:
- Global consumers turn to marketplaces for better value: Nearly two thirds (60 per cent) of shoppers across the globe name better prices as a reason why they’re using online marketplaces this season. 94 per cent of respondents say they plan to maintain (or even increase) their frequency of shopping on online marketplaces.
- Third-party sellers also benefit from the marketplace boom: Four-fifths of UK respondents said they definitely will or would consider purchasing holiday gifts from third-party sellers through an online marketplace. In fact, millennials and Gen Z are the most likely to buy from third-party sellers on online marketplaces.
- Supply chain disruptions are causing changes to customer behaviour: A third of UK respondents cited shipping delays as a key reason for starting their festive shopping earlier this year. The same percentage also stated that they are concerned many products will not be in stock later in the year.
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