• by Ray Schultz , November 15, 2022

Small-to-medium e-commerce businesses are shifting dollars from email to social media as the holiday season approaches, judging by a new study from Fiverr, conducted by Censuswide.

Roughly 33% of executives plan to reduce their investment in email marketing compared to last year. In addition, 25% are cutting back on in-store promotions or events. 

At the same time, 41% are increasing their social media spend, and nearly 90% say the category is sacred.

It’s not clear if the cut in email reflects a volume reduction, or simply a lesser investment in technology and personnel. 

Meanwhile, 88% of business leaders believe they will make the same or more this holiday season compared to last year. But 50% believe their holiday sales performance will have more of an impact than it has in previous years. 

The study also revealed these findings:

- 36% say the economic downturn’s impact on sales would be among their greatest challenges this holiday season, and 37% say the same about inflation.

- 43% say that supply-chain disruptions would be among their greatest challenges this season, and 37% cite competition from larger ecommerce businesses.

- 64% started their holiday promotion planning one to three months earlier this year. 

- 47% plan to offer steeper holiday discounts this year. 

Fiverr surveyed 505 business owners and executives.