According to results of Shop.org's eHoliday Study conducted by BIGresearch, 84.8% of online retailers will offer free
shipping at some point during the holiday season, and 31.4% said these offers will begin earlier this year than a year ago. Shoppers may even see more free shipping deals this year, as 36.7% of
retailers said their budget for free shipping is higher than last holiday season.
63.8% of retailers expect their company's online sales to grow by 15% or more compared to last holiday
season, up from 45.8% of retailers who had those expectations last year.
Retailers' Projected Holiday Online Revenue Growth |
Growth Expectations | 2010 | 2009 |
Hypergrowth (75%+) | 6.4% | 11.9% |
Strong (30%-74%) | 31.9 | 13.6 |
Good (15-29%) | 25.5 | 20.3 |
Fair (0-14%) | 29.8 | 33.9 |
Flat or Negative | 6.4 | 20.3 |
Source: Shop.org/BIGresearch, October 2010 |
Fiona
Swerdlow, Shop.org head of research, notes that "...retailers continue to see the web as a bright spot in the industry... in addition to... bringing in sales, retailers are leveraging the
internet to encourage shoppers to head to nearby stores, featuring store locator information, product availability, and store circulars on their websites."
As many shoppers begin thinking
ahead to the holidays, 40% of online retailers will begin holiday marketing by Halloween with another 40% planning to begin marketing the week of November 1, according to the study.
Phil Rist,
Executive Vice President, Strategic Initiatives, BIGresearch, said "... (in addition to) enticing shoppers to come to them, retailers will be leveraging social media... this holiday season to
reach consumers where they already are: Facebook, Twitter and YouTube."
According to the survey:
- 72.5% of retailers say they have invested in the company's Facebook
page in advance of the holidays
- 54.9% said they have invested in cross-selling on product pages
- 54.9% in site search
- 52.9% in customer ratings and reviews
- 43.1% of retailers say they have invested more this holiday season in a Twitter campaign or Twitter feed
Rist also notes that "... Online retailers know shoppers
care about low prices and free shipping, but they also appreciate the ability to easily find gift ideas or shop around the clock... "
32.2% of online shoppers say they'll make more
of their holiday purchases on the web this year, listing 24-hour convenience (35.1%), easy price comparisons (33.1%) and a lack of desire to fight the crowds (30.8%) among the main reasons why
they're shifting a portion of their spending.
The eHoliday Study surveyed 2,583 consumers from September 19 - October 4, 2010 and 51 online retailers from September 1-27,
2010.
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