The holiday shopping season is traditionally the most important sales time of the year for brands and retailers, but for the last two years, brands have approached the season with cautious optimism. This year, brands are feeling much better about their holiday sales going into the season.
That’s based on new Glossy+ research based on a survey of brands and retailers about the upcoming holiday season. When asked about their revenue expectations, a plurality of respondents (35%) said they expect sales to be up between 11-30% compared to last year’s holiday season. Comparatively, only 20% said the same in 2023 and only 6% in 2022. Instead, in previous years, the most common answer to the question was between 1-10%.
Last year, holiday sales across the U.S. retail industry hit a record of $964 billion, which may be the source of brands’ optimism. Some studies, like a report released this month by Mastercard Economics Institute, suggest that holiday sales this year will see a slight boost from last year’s record numbers.
How do you expect your 2024 holiday revenue will compare to your 2023 holiday revenue?
Some brands’ holiday strategies will go unchanged year-over-year. For example, the majority of respondents, 70%, said their discount rates will stay the same, compared to the 2023 holiday season. Discounts are a sore spot for many brands, but it’s an unavoidable aspect of the holiday shopping season. For many brands, it’s the one time of year they lean into discounts and promotions.
But what they are changing are the marketing channels they’re relying on through the season. Social commerce saw the biggest jump: Last year, 60% of brands called social commerce a priority. This year, however, 70% said the same, making it the second biggest priority after owned e-commerce channels.
Which of the following sales channels does your company plan to use as part of your holiday 2024 strategy?
Amazon saw a small jump, in terms of the number of brands labeling it an “important sales channel,” moving from 44% of respondents to 47%. But digital marketplaces besides Amazon, including Farfetch, saw a significant dropoff, from 31% deeming it important in 2022 to 16% in 2023 and down to 12% this year.
That last figure may be unsurprising given the issues that many large digital marketplaces have faced in the last year. Farfetch, a major marketplace for both fashion and beauty, had a rapid fall from grace at the end of 2023, ending with its sale to Coupang in January.
