Physical Retail Set to Dominate Holiday Season

The 2019 holiday season saw a sharp increase in shoppers visiting retail locations. 62% of the adult population visited retail centers following the Thanksgiving holiday and on average they spent $504 on goods and services, up from $413 a year ago. According to The International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), Physical retailers with online stores achieved better sales due to consumers visiting both online and physical locations. Nearly 75% of Black Friday holiday shoppers purchased goods in a physical store during the booming holiday shopping weekend.

It’s been a rough few years for many brick and mortar stores that rely heavily on the holiday season to sustain strong numbers. The rise of online shopping and its many conveniences continue to draw consumers in; however, retail stores that maintain both a physical and online presence are set to become even more profitable than those purely based online. Consumers are beginning to see the value of returning to physical stores and many retailers are beginning to offer unique experiences and better customer service than you would normally receive while shopping online.

Recently, Price Waterhouse Coopers reported that Americans in 2019 will spend more of their holiday shopping online than in physical stores. Spending projections place consumer online spending at $879 million vs $541 million spending in physical stores. Based on selective projections e-commerce may seem like the most optimal place to sell your goods and services. There is one obstacle many overlook when selling online – Amazon. According to ICSC, 15% of the 19% in online based only expenditures were made on Amazon so far this holiday season. Leaving just 4% to other digital stores.

“Traditional brick-and-mortar retailers dominated the holiday when it came to expenditures, too: Their stores and websites drew nearly 80 percent of Thanksgiving Day/Black Friday expenditures for goods. Purely online enterprises attracted only 19 percent of expenditures by comparison, and 15 percent went to Amazon.”

Recently, popular digital retailers such as Warby Parker, Allbirds and many others are set to open 850 brick-and-mortar stores over the next five years. Proving that online and physical retail can coexist.