64 per cent of global shoppers will have shopped in November as Singles Day (11.11) and Black Friday (24.11) capture the majority of consumer spend with just 23 per cent intending to purchase in December the latest data from ESW, reveals. Just 2 per cent of consumers plan to start holiday shopping on Cyber Monday (27.11) as spending shifts to earlier in the month.
ESW’s Global Voices research of more than 18,000 consumers across eighteen countries, shows most shoppers in China (75 per cent), India (60 per cent), the UK (58 per cent), Mexico (53 per cent) and the U.S. (51 per cent) will have shopped before Black Friday (24th November). This highlights the growing popularity and power of Singles Day (with sales starting on 31st October and running to 11th November), with gross merchandising volume (GMV) estimated to have reached US$156.4 billion this year, which, along with Amazon Prime’s Early Access Sale taking place in mid-October, is pulling the ‘Peak’ shopping season forward for shoppers seeking out gift deals.
Black Friday, which generated US$65.3 billion in 2022, remains the most popular holiday shopping event in Brazil for 40 per cent of shoppers, South Africa and Italy (both 39 per cent). However, it is now the least popular holiday shopping day in China (3 per cent), where Singles Day originated from, India (7 per cent) and Argentina (10 per cent), with overall global demand dropping dramatically to just 2 per cent for Cyber Monday deals before climbing again to 23 per cent for the month of December.
Globally, 43 per cent of respondents plan to spend the same amount for the 2023 holiday season as last year, with 30 per cent spending less and 27 per cent spending more year-on-year (YOY). By market, a greater number of shoppers in India (60 per cent), UAE (49 per cent) and China (42 per cent) will spend more, while France and Germany (both 40 per cent), Australia (38 per cent) and Canada (37 per cent) report the highest number of shoppers intending to spend less YOY. The highest average household budgets for holiday spending were reported in the UAE (US$1,134), China (US$1,075) and the U.S. (US$1,026) with the lowest allocations reported in Japan (US$318), where 50 per cent of respondents indicated they didn’t plan to do any holiday gift shopping, South Africa (US$454) and Germany (US$602).
Martim Oliveira Avillez, chief revenue officer of ESW commented: “As global holiday demand shifts and peaks by both month and market, driven by differing discount events, brands and retailers must ensure they have the agility to scale into different markets quickly to capitalise on demand and convert during this critical final quarter sales period.
“Globally, consumer confidence and accompanying spend remain disparate. This is once again a reminder of the importance to brands and retailers of having easy access to international DTC eCommerce solutions to expand their customer base beyond domestic markets to grow topline revenue,” he commented further.
Globally, the most popular categories for gifting in 2023 were apparel (40 per cent), fragrance and cosmetics (37 per cent) and toys and games (34 per cent). While Gen Z and Millennials planned to spend on apparel (38 per cent and 43 per cent respectively), fragrance and cosmetics (37 per cent and 44 per cent respectively) and accessories (36 per cent and 38 per cent respectively).
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