Tales of the unexpected

Are you ready for changes in online shopping behaviour before Christmas?

Considering holiday sales can account for as much as 30% of annual revenue, it’s no wonder retailers begin preparing for Christmas in July!

But with ever-changing buyer behaviour, trends toward ecommerce, high return rates (one in three gifts are returned) and fluctuating sales over recent years, what was once a slam-dunk season has become more and more difficult to predict. Case in point: for the first time ever, online sales in November are projected to overtake December numbers, according to ecommercenews.eu.

No matter what trends this holiday season brings, the one constant retailers can depend on is higher-than-average amounts of returns and overstocks. And while you can’t fully prepare for pre- holiday buying behaviour, you can prepare for post-holiday returns and excess inventory.