The pandemic effect

What holiday shopping will look like in 2021

The pandemic changed shopping habits for everyone around the world. But what does that mean for holiday spending and how marketers can reach their target audiences?

Introduction

The holiday shopping season is fast approaching and since the pandemic still has a grasp on the world, it’s going to look a bit different this year. Even though customer shopping behaviors have changed, shoppers are still ready to spend. For digital marketers, the challenge remains: how and when can you reach the correct audience for your brand?

That’s why we created this report.

We explored the alternate ways that people have shopped over the past 18 months and surveyed consumer habits. The data within these pages will help marketers to update their strategy and reach holiday shoppers, ultimately increasing revenue.

01

Pandemic shopping habits continue this holiday season

Alternate shopping behaviors aren’t going away. Shoppers have increased their pre-purchase research with around one in three people in the UK, Canada and the US searching for reviews and specs prior to checking out.

01

Key considerations when making a purchase decision

Percentage of consumers

criticalimportantnot important

Source: MiQ – Sapio Consumer research, August 2021, n= 9000

PRICES AND DISCOUNTS

AVAILABILITY

PRODUCT REVIEW AND RATINGS

02

02

Millennials are ready to fill their closets

Non-essential retail purchases declined during the lockdowns with fashion taking a hard hit. But change is coming this holiday season, with spending expected to increase to 64% on clothing and apparel by the millennial demographic.

Product category reference among holiday shoppers

Percentage of consumers planning to spend on the category

Source: MiQ – Sapio Consumer research, August 2021, n= 9000

03

Holiday shopping: both online and offline

with restrictions slowly lifting in certain areas of the world, people are eager to shop in-person for items other than essentials while other purchases like consumer electronics will continue to be made online.

03

Shopping channel preferences by product categories, online versus offline

Percentage of time spent online/offline

Source: MiQ – Sapio Consumer research, August 2021, n= 9000

Essentials

Consumer electronics

Books & periodicals

04

04

Pre-purchase research starts earlier, lasts longer

Doing research prior to buying an item has grown in popularity during the pandemic and it’s starting even earlier this year for the holiday season. We found that 40% of customers compared two or more products before making a final decision to purchase.

%

of customers compared two or more products before making a final decision to purchase.

Source: MiQ – Sapio Consumer research, August 2021, n= 9000

05

Inventory and media consumption impact ROI goals

Lack of programmatic ad inventory during peak holiday shopping times can affect marketer’s goals of reaching the right audience and ROI.

CPA levels tend to be more desirable in October and early November rather than during the actual retail events. Marketers need to think about running branding campaigns in September and October, followed by more targeted actions in November and December to avoid the last-minute rush.

Normalized weekly cpa levels, h2, 2020

Normalized weekly cpa levelsSource: MiQ Inventory Stats

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