One of the knock-on effects of the pandemic and lockdown restrictions has been the rise in online shopping, as people have been forced to make the majority of their purchases over the internet because of high street closures rendering in-person retail visits impossible for months.
And it seems as though this trend looks set to continue over the festive period, with Emarketer suggesting that online retail will carry the strain of seasonal demand this Christmas.
Apparently, retail ecommerce holiday sales will hit £28.51 billion by the end of 2020, a rise of 16.7 per cent on last year and making up 32.2 per cent of total holiday sales for the UK over the whole 12 months.
Seasonal sales taking place in bricks-and-mortar shops, meanwhile, will fall by 19 per cent to £60.04 billion, accounting for just over two-thirds of all holiday sales – a drop from more than three-quarters in 2019.
England’s second lockdown is sure to have an impact, as well, with all non-essential shops having to close until December 2nd.
Given that people are more likely to do their Christmas shopping online this year, it’s essential that businesses across all industries and all shapes and sizes keep their websites fully functional, making the process of buying online as easy as possible to reduce shopping cart abandonment.
Focusing on social media marketing and SEO will also likely yield positive results, as well, so you can let consumers know that you are open for business at this time.
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