3 likely Christmas 2022 trends that your e-tail store needs to be prepared for
There won’t be too many prizes handed out for guessing that the festive season of 2022 will not be quite the same as that of previous years. Much of the public conversation in the news and around the world this year has centred on escalating living costs, and this will inevitably impact on how your target customers shop for gifts this Christmas.
This, in turn, helps explain why we are addressing the subject of the upcoming festive shopping season earlier this year than we might have otherwise done.
Such has been the impact of the cost-of-living crisis, that it will probably be advisable for your ecommerce business to start putting in place its seasonal plans even sooner than it did in 2021 or 2020. So, let’s take a look at some of the probable trends that will guide your decisions.
Retail sales will likely be held down by inflation
Recent statistics indicate that although lockdowns are long history for many people, we’re still doing a lot of our shopping online. So, there will remain opportunities for your e-tail store to scoop up new custom this festive season, as well as to retain existing loyal customers.
But it seems extremely unlikely that ecommerce sales this Christmas will keep much pace with recent dizzying inflation.
And we aren’t just making that point about the UK, for example, where inflation is running at 9.1% on a year-on-year basis. That’s because it has been a similar story in the United States, where inflation hit 8.6% in May – although even that is mercifully short of the eyewatering 73.5% year-on-year inflation that Turkey experienced in the same month.
The likely overriding practical consequence of all this will be a much greater determination on the part of shoppers to be budget conscious. This will force stores like yours to compete even harder for their custom.
People will make their Christmas 2022 purchases early
Not so long ago, it might have seemed a slightly ridiculous notion for almost anyone to start buying their Christmas gifts for loved ones during the summer or early autumn. But the exceptional circumstances of our present times are bringing this up as a real prospect for many more people.
Shoppers are realising that if inflation is making prices look perilously high right now, the situation will be even worse in December. So, you might begin to acknowledge the Christmas season sooner on your own e-tail site than you might have considered to be sensible in more ‘normal’ years.
That, in turn, is likely to mean a relative de-emphasis on the normally key festive shopping days of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, given that a significant proportion of your typical customers might have more-or-less finished their Christmas shopping by the time these dates roll around.
Mobile commerce will continue its recent stellar growth
Did you know that in the UK alone, the revenues generated from retail sales made via mobile devices are expected to reach £105.28 billion in 2024? That would be quite some climb from the £50.36 billion figure recorded for 2016, and even the £68.42 billion forecast for 2021.
All of this underlines the importance of ensuring your ecommerce brand continues to live up to smartphone users’ expectations during the forthcoming festive shopping season. If there is a particularly good time to invest further in the mobile optimisation of your website, or to have a dedicated mobile app developed, that time might be now.
The challenges that face brands like yours in 2022 may be extremely real, but there are also key opportunities to tap into if you make the right moves with your store at an early stage.
As one of the most trusted and innovative website design, graphic design, search engine optimisation, and bespoke system solution companies in Gibraltar, Piranha Designs is ready and waiting to cater to your brand’s most demanding requirements ahead of the winter. Simply give us a call or send us an email today for further information and guidance about what we can do for you.
