Holiday Shopping news and archive

Why gift guides have lost their gloss

Holiday commerce has gotten more tedious with the onslaught of the gift guide, which has devolved into a ubiquitous marketing mechanism that has consumers rolling their eyes and scrolling past. What was once a curated selection of thoughtful recommendations has become a relentless affiliate marketing machine, driven more by commission potential...

Business

Spain: Fashion sales in fall for the first time in November since 2020

Madrid – A cold and unflattering Christmas for the Spanish retail fashion industry is what we are heading towards in 2024, based on the -2.8 percent drop in sales for the sector as a whole during this already surpassed month of November. A period in which, with the arrival of “Black Friday”, the unofficial start of this strategic holiday...

Retail

UK retailers feed off public affection for festive ads

They come with big budgets, are wrapped in sentimentality and boost company revenues -- Britain's latest instalment of eagerly awaited Christmas television advertisements has a nation tuned in. Known for talking about the weather 12 months a year, Britons will begin sharing thoughts on the latest festive commercials as soon as they hit screens,...

Retail

Number of shoppers drop despite growth on Black Friday

An estimated 197 million people shopped during the five-day holiday weekend from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday in the United States, but lower than last year's record of 200.4 million, an annual survey by the National Retail Federation or NRF shows. However, Black Friday shoppers grew from last year, and remained the most popular day for...

Retail

Amazon reports record-breaking Black Friday Week & Cyber Monday 2024

Online giant Amazon has reported a new record-breaking Black Friday Week and Cyber Monday. This Thanksgiving holiday seasonal sale event was the company’s largest to date, compared to the same 12-day period ending on Cyber Monday in prior years. Running from November 21 to December 2, Amazon offered some of the biggest deals of the season across...

Retail

US Black Friday retail sales grow 3.4 percent this year

Black Friday is far from being over in the United States, as shoppers across the nation continue to indulge in the annual discount day. According to preliminary insights from Mastercard SpendingPulse, retail sales (excluding automotive) grew 3.4 percent year on year on November 29, compared to Black Friday in 2023. As more retailers spread out...

Retail

Retailers brace for boom in Black Friday spending

With just weeks to go until the start of the crucial Christmas shopping period, retailers are preparing for a Black Friday bonanza as consumers look to get ahead on their seasonal purchases. New data from industry analysts GlobalData and Vouchercodes.co.uk forecasts that UK shoppers will spend 9.14bn pounds over the four-day Black Friday weekend...

Fashion

Amazon dominates holiday gift search

Amazon has emerged as the dominant online platform for UK holiday shoppers, with over half (52 percent) turning to it for festive gift inspiration, surpassing Google, which attracted only 31 percent of shoppers, according to recent research by Nosto. Generative AI tools like ChatGPT are quickly gaining relevance, with 8 percent of UK consumers...

RetailFeatured

US holiday spending expected to be up 3.2% year-on-year this season

US shoppers are expected to spend 3.2 percent more this holiday season than last year, as retailers nationwide kick off the seasonal period earlier each year. According to Mastercard’s latest SpendingPulse Insights data, which tracks in-store and online retail sales across all payment types, US holiday shoppers will likely concentrate most of...

Retail

Target to cut prices on 2,000 items during holiday season

Retail major Target Corp. announced its plan to reduce regular prices on more than 2,000 items across owned and national brands this holiday season, to remain competitive in markets. These new price reductions are on top of the retailer's everyday low prices. In total, the company would be offering lower prices than last year on more than 10,000...

RetailFeatured

51% of consumers reportedly prefer in-store shopping ahead of holiday season

51 percent of UK and US adult shoppers prefer in-store shopping over online shopping, according to the latest insights from x-hoppers, an AI retail communication solutions provider. 62 percent of shoppers aged 55 and over were found to favor in-store shopping even more based on a survey conducted in September 2024 with market research firm Sago,...

RetailFeatured

UK retailers set for holiday spending boost despite consumer caution

After a turbulent year for retail, Shopify's latest Holiday Retail Report brings welcome news for UK businesses. The UK is the only international market where consumers are expected to increase their spending significantly during Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2024. The report reveals a projected 21 percent rise in average spending per shopper,...