HomeeCommerce NewsUS holiday season characterized by major online shopping,given the on-going global conditions

US holiday season characterized by major online shopping,given the on-going global conditions

During these pandemic situations, when everything else had come to a sudden halt, the e-commerce business labels did not leave their people. Since people are still hesitating to shop in the malls or brick-and-mortar stores, shoppers have shifted to online platforms in 2020 for holiday presents. The previous year, 13% of overall retail sales were accounted for by e-commerce during the peak holiday shopping period from November 1 – December 24. However, according to Mastercard Spending Pulse, that number observed an increase to 20% this year.

COVID-19 accelerated many trends, including brands looking more toward third-party sellers. Amazon is of course emerging as a dominant force in this arena, set to top $52B in gross merchandise volume by 2023.

This pandemic will lead to an additional $40 B in online holiday revenue over November and December 2020, according to new data from Digital Commerce 360. Pre-pandemic, this level of digital holiday shopping wasn’t expected to be reached for another four years. For the first time, more than a quarter of holiday sales will occur online in 2020. In fact, US consumers are expected to spend a collective 43.3% more with online retailers this holiday season, a total of $198.73 billion. That’s a 26.1% increase in web penetration, up from 19.2% in 2019.

With the hike in the e-commerce business, 57% of purchasing managers are spending more on marketplace e-commerce sites, with 22% spending significantly more.

The ongoing global situation has accelerated a shift towards being a more digital world and triggered changes in online shopping behaviors that seem likely to have lasting effects.  The Covid-19 has changed forever how people shop online, according to a survey of about 3,700 consumers in nine emerging and also developed countries.  It is seen that people shop online more frequently and rely on the internet for not only news but also health-related information and digital entertainment.

Mastercard also states that holiday shopping kicked off earlier than ever before – in mid-October, and it found online sales grew 49% between October 11 – December 24 compared to the same period in 2019. Mastercard found that was in part to retailers offering special promotions “early and often.”

Senior advisor to Mastercard Steve Sadove said, “American consumers turned the holiday season on its head, redefining ‘home for the holidays’ in a uniquely 2020 way.” The former CEO of Saks Incorporated said consumers shopped from home for the home, leading to record e-commerce growth.

Sanna Sharma
Sanna Sharma
Sanna Sharma is an emerging freelance content writer, specializing in content relating to e-commerce news. She is working with Ecommercenext.org currently. It is a platform that provides the latest e-commerce news, events, blogs, webinars, reviews, job postings, and analysis from around the world. She is a keen individual with competitive writing abilities and is always working on herself to become a better her.
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