The holiday shopping season is traditionally the most important sales time of the year for brands and retailers, but for the past two years brands have approached the season with cautious optimism. This year, brands are really ramping up their holiday sales for this season.
This is based on new Glossy+ research based on surveys of brands and retailers regarding the upcoming holiday season. When asked about revenue expectations, a plurality of respondents (35%) said they expected sales to increase 11-30% compared to last year’s holiday season. By comparison, only 20% said the same in 2023 and just 6% in 2022. Instead, in previous years, the most common response to this question was between 1 and 10%.
Last year, holiday sales across the U.S. retail industry hit a record $964 billion, which may be a source of optimism for brands. Some studies, including a report released this month by the Mastercard Economic Research Institute, suggest that this year’s holiday sales will increase slightly from last year’s record numbers.
How do you expect the 2024 holiday season revenue to compare to the 2023 holiday season revenue?
Some brands’ holiday strategies remain unchanged from previous years. For example, the majority of respondents (70%) said their discount rates will remain the same compared to the 2023 holiday season. Discounts are a thorn in the side of many brands, but they’re an inevitable part of the holiday season. For many brands, this is the only time of the year when they focus on discounts and promotions.
But what they are changing is the marketing channel they rely on throughout the season. Social commerce saw the biggest growth. Last year, 60% of brands said social commerce was a priority. But this year, 70% said the same, making it their second most important priority after their own e-commerce channels.
Which of the following sales channels does your company plan to use as part of your 2024 holiday strategy?
Amazon saw a slight increase in the number of brands that rated Amazon as an “important sales channel,” rising from 44% to 47% of respondents. However, digital marketplaces other than Amazon, including Farfetch, have declined significantly, from 31% in 2022 to 16% in 2023 and 12% this year.
This last number may not be surprising given the challenges many large digital marketplaces faced last year. Farfetch, a major fashion and beauty marketplace, fell sharply into decline at the end of 2023, finalizing its sale to Coupang in January.
