Mele’s Musings

2008 eHoliday Study — Pre-Holiday Results Released

Survey says what we all know - consumers are looking for bargains this year

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Article excerpt: There has been much discussion of late about some rather stark monthly results and the implications for retail sales this holiday season. Last week we released to Shop.org Members the pre-holiday results of our annual Shop.org eHoliday Study (conducted in partnership with Shopzilla), which focuses primarily on the online side of the retail holiday season. The pre-holiday study surveyed 2,040 consumers and 60 online retailers in late September and early October. A sampling of highlights from those findings: Over half (58%) of the online retailers surveyed expect online holiday sales to increase at least 15% over last year, though that is fewer than the three-quarters (77%) who expected these same results last year. As Scott Silverman, Executive Director of Shop.org, summed it up, “online retailers are resilient but not immune” to the current economic climate. Two thirds of consumers expect to use the Web for at least part of their holiday shopping, citing advantages such as 24-hour shopping convenience, price comparison capabilities, and, yes, free shipping offers. The rest: shop.org 

Musing: Consumers are heading right to the sales and clearance areas of websites, and free shipping is back (did it ever really leave)? It is interesting that online merchants are, by and large, not expecting decreases in holiday sales this year. It brings up an interesting challenge for those who sell on the web - consumers still have an expectation that online retailers are going to sell items at a discount. Although it is true that the power of the web should be in part that overhead costs are lower, the truth is that the web still is a place where there is a race to the bottom in terms of price points and freebies like shipping. How does a retailer with a web presence ever get to a value beyond price? The article gives some ideas, but the bottom line is that consumers want to find retailers they can trust and who are going to give them good value in their purchase - whether that is reduced costs (like free shipping), or piece of mind (such as good return policies). What has not been explored enough is what new ways can retailers offer value that do not have to do with giving away the farm. Virtual service? Consumer control? More integrated online and offline shopping experiences? These should all be explored my more deeply by retailers.

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