Holiday shopping is starting early this year, and a new report from Microsoft aims to make marketers aware of changes to customer expectations.
Microsoft identifies four key shifts in the marketplace this holiday season:
- Shoppers will start early this year.
- Alternative payments and delivery methods will be in demand.
- Sustainability will be a trend.
- Advertising competition will be high.
Stephanie Worley, Global Brand Marketer for Microsoft Advertising, states:
“This holiday season, we anticipate growing e-commerce adoption and shopping that will begin earlier than ever. It used to be Black Friday that kicked off the U.S. shopping season, but not this year. Now, 32% of shoppers, bolstered by e-commerce, say they plan to start shopping in early fall.”
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The time is now to get into holiday shopping mode. Here’s how consumers are approaching things differently this year.
Holiday Searches & Shopping Start Early
Shoppers are making holiday purchases earlier this year, but even before then they’ll be hitting the search engines to research products.
- 76% of consumers worldwide bought a product due to researching online.
- 48% of consumers worldwide used search for products.
- 25% of all global online orders came from shoppers who used the search bar.
Microsoft’s data shows that consumers are doing even more research on products before purchasing them. Now, the research phase can be 30 days or more.
