Online, Contactless Shopping are Top Holiday Trends

The trends that accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic will continue into the busy holiday shopping season, according to a recent survey of 1,00 respondents by ChannelAdvisor.

In general, consumers are likely to continue making more digital purchases than before the start of the pandemic, and retailers have been gearing up with more omnichannel solutions. More than half of survey respondents said they plan to shop online in the future compared to before the pandemic. In addition, 41% said they will shop for groceries online more often in the future.

For the holidays, 37% of survey consumers plan to shop more online compared to last year,  and 44% plan to use buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS), or curbside pickup. Just 6% said they plan to do less holiday shopping online this year.

The pandemic shifted how consumers make purchases online, with 34% purchasing items online they had not purchased before the pandemic. Overall, 59% of respondents are shopping online more frequently than ever, with 32% having more confidence in buying online.

Consumers are most influenced in their online buying decisions by price (73%), followed by reviews (51%), availability (49%), delivery speed (41%), brand name (37%), payment options (24%) and flexibility of delivery time (23%).

Availability of products is crucial for the holiday season, as the No. 1 reason consumers abandon their carts is due to items being out of stock (60%). Retailers are currently facing a supply chain crunch, as port delays and congestion have clogged up imports. In addition, a labor shortage in the transportation and cargo sectors has impacted the supply chain challenges.  

When it comes to where consumers are shopping online, Amazon is the top spot for 54% of survey respondents. That’s followed by a search engine to find products (21%) and a brand website (10%). Younger consumers are more likely to use social media for product research and discovery, the survey found.