Apparel Online Bangladesh Magazine November Issue 2018 | Page 68

WORLD WRAP TO ADVERTISE GOING TO A GOOD EVENT? Contact Rani Mahendru [phone] (512) [email protected] Send your industry gossip, photos and news to [email protected] US retail upbeat for holiday sales 2018… Learnings from last year shaping strategies There are many factors that are raising expectations of retailers for the upcoming holiday season from a bumper sale during the period last year to the continuous improvement in retail sales over this year. Retail experts and market watchers believe that currently, consumer confidence in the US is high, as unemployment is low and wages are increasing. According to latest eMarketer forecast, all holiday retail sales (online and in-store) in 2018 will grow by 3.8% to US $ 691.9 billion – though this projection is very positive, but not as impressive as the 5.5% gain that US saw last year. On the other hand, Deloitte is projecting a 5.0 to 5.6% increase in total retail sales overall for the holiday season. T he buzz around Christmas sales is starting earlier than the previous year, for many years now. In fact, many of the predictions, suggestions and analyses for the current year’s season started coming in as early as January end, as soon as the final data for the past season was compiled. This is not surprising, considering that the holiday season is the biggest grosser for retail, both offline and online, and retailers work meticulously to ensure that they get a decent chunk of the heightened business volume. Now that we are into October, the activity and preparation for the holiday sales is on full swing…, from product portfolio to how best the consumer is enticed. ESSENTIALS In the last few years, it has been observed that October and not November is the time when consumers start searching for deals. Responding to this trend, many retailers from Amazon to Walmart have started offering deals days and even weeks prior to Black Friday. single biggest US online shopping day ever with US $ 6.59 billion in sales – just short of the predicted US $ 6.6 billion, but still up by nearly 17% more than that of the previous year. Analysing what worked for retailers and consumers last year, many predictions are being made. Going through the many reports that have emerged, three major predictions have emerged that are being endorsed by every research and market forecaster – Holiday browsing and buying will start earlier than ever; Online penetration and impact is going to get bigger; and consumers experience and not just a good product is the way forward. The first thrust is on getting an edge during Black Friday sales that falls a day after the US holiday of Thanksgiving, which is the fourth Thursday of November and is officially regarded as the first day of the Christmas shopping season, on which retailers make many special offers. Of late, as a marketing strategy, online retailers have started promoting what is now called Cyber Monday and which falls on the Monday after Thanksgiving, as a day for exceptional bargains. Data from Adobe Analytics showed that the combined total for Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday 2017 were up 17.9% to US $ 7.9 billion, while Cyber Monday 2017 ended up being the 68 Apparel Online Bangladesh | November 2018 | www.apparelresources.com Other predictions are in many ways interlinked with these three core movements. The going is tougher for the bricks-and-mortar stores, but using the omni-challenge route effectively can translate into big business for the stores. After all, Christmas is also about family time and doing things together… Shopping is one of the activities families like to indulge in as a run up to the festival. Holiday browsing and buying will start earlier and end much later In the last few years, it has been observed that October and not November is the time when