This Year’s Holiday Shopping Season is Starting Early: How Public Online Data Can Help Retailers Deliver

A recent survey conducted by Vanson Bourne and Bright Data reveals that consumers in the UK and US have started their holiday shopping earlier this year – before Black Friday and Cyber Monday – due to low confidence in global supply chains and retailers’ abilities to deliver gifts in time.
3 min read
Shopping data

According to Vanson Bourne‘s research that surveyed 4,000 consumers across the US and UK, confidence in retailers’ ability to deliver gifts in time for the holidays is at an all-time low, with 51% of UK respondents and 66% of US respondents planning to shop ahead of Black Friday and Cyber Monday in order to get their wish-list items in time.

Top consumer priorities during the holidays

So, what are the top priorities for consumers this holiday shopping season? Let’s take a closer look at what our findings show:

  • The Best Deals

With consumers being more focused than ever on getting the best deal, most US and UK holiday shoppers (69% and 56%, respectively) plan to use price comparison sites for their holiday shopping. In the US, this figure grew 9% year over year. In addition, 74% of survey respondents said they’d switch from their usual retailer if they found a better price elsewhere.

  • Holiday Retail Sales Events: Black Friday & Cyber Monday

Our research examined respondents’ attitudes towards these major holiday retail discount days, and only a thin majority (56%) of respondents in both the US and UK said they plan to take advantage of them. However, of the different age groups surveyed, 72% of 18-24-year-olds said they would be participating, which was considerably higher compared to those respondents aged 65 and over (36%).

  • Online Shopping

Our research shows that 53% of respondents who currently only shop online said they will do even more shopping online this holiday season. This included those 65 years and over, with 39% completing most purchases online, compared to only 15% in 2019. Even for those consumers who currently only shop in person, 14% said they will do more online shopping this year.

The survey also looked at factors that influenced online shoppers’ purchase decisions: 82% of respondents said price, 65% said product availability, and 59% said delivery timeframe. Worth noting is that 16% of respondents said they have considered using a different online retailer due to poor website accessibility and design.

Data: The Biggest Gift to Retailers

Given the early start of this year’s (extended) holiday season, not to mention price-conscious consumers, retailers will need to go that extra mile to prepare for meeting consumers’ wants and needs – and to therefore stand out from their competitors. Here’s where developing strong, data-driven pricing strategies will help.

“It’s no surprise that the majority of consumers prioritize securing the best price when holiday shopping,” said Or Lenchner, CEO at Bright Data. “I expect that more organizations will wake up to the potential of using external or alternative data insights to maintain competitive offers and pricing in this ultra-competitive time, and those who won’t, will remain behind,” said Lenchner.

“Before the internet age, retailers would send ‘mystery shoppers’ to review their competitors’ offerings and prices. but now this can all be managed online through up-to-the-minute web data collection – which greatly benefits both businesses and consumers,” Lenchner added.

But meeting consumers’ needs means foreseeing them. And having the right data on hand is the best way to do so. According to the survey, over one-third (35%) of respondents said they preferred to purchase from brands that have a better reputation. With the right data, retailers can always make sure they’re in tune with their brand reputation, price offerings, and consumers’ preferences. This will help them maintain a competitive edge during the holiday shopping season and beyond.