Festive Demand Set to Improve Retail Outlook

Friday, September 27, 2019 - 15:32 by Mike Price

2019 has been a tough year for retailers in the UK, with consumer caution resulting in consistent sales stagnation, even in the usually buoyant world of safe shopping online. However, projections published by CJ Affiliate suggest that the run-up to Christmas will prove to be a fruitful turnaround for the market, with analysts anticipating significant improvements across the board.

Black Friday will once again play an important role in encouraging people to part with their cash prior to December 25th, with this sales event set to take place in late November and potentially result in sales increases of up to a third, if performance in prior years is anything to go by.

Study spokesperson Jules Bazley said that the summer had been an especially bleak patch for retailers, which is why so many are hoping to optimise their ability to win over consumers in the coming months. He argues that although short-term sales spikes, such as are seen over the Black Friday weekend, can be beneficial, it would be short sighted of e-commerce sites to solely target these occasions with their strategies.

In particular, Bazley claims that the mobile shopping experience will need to be optimised if retailers want to avoid customers slipping through the cracks. There is a very low tolerance amongst consumers for sub-par m-commerce services, so this is not just about securing one-off sales but also about courting prospective customers in the long term.

The survey further revealed that Brits are having their penchant for impulse purchasing fuelled by the availability of online shopping solutions, especially prior to Christmas. E-commerce sites mean that it is easy to leave a lot of the shopping responsibilities until the last minute, even if this does leave consumers running the risk of late deliveries spoiling the big day.