Every Friday, we answer a common question about fulfillment, shipping, or business. This week’s question comes from a reply to one of our weekly emails. Today we will answer the following question: “why are holiday sales starting in October this year?”
The 2020 Holiday Sales Are Coming Early This Year
When you think of the fourth quarter holiday season, you probably naturally think about the stretch of time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. After all, this is when Black Friday and Cyber Monday take place. Yet because of an “alliance between Coresight, Shopkick and dozens of retailers and brands, [the first shopping event will be] for October 10-11.“
This isn’t just a strange exercise coordinated by a handful of companies to make a bit more cash. Business Insider and Bloomberg have also reported on the push to start the holidays on October 10. (The first holiday, if you’re curious, will be a US version of Singles’ Day because the date will be 10/10. Get it?)
Why Holiday Dates Are Changing
So what gives? Why are we suddenly in a rush to change the typical holiday sales dates? We hinted at some answers in last week’s post about how holiday shopping will be different this year, but now we want to answer it outright.
There are two very solid reasons for businesses to move holidays up this year.
First, there are supply chain concerns. Ecommerce sales have already soared to heights that would have been unimaginable last year. This has put an enormous strain on companies to ship large amounts of items in a short amount of time. Add in the holidays and many companies run the risk of trying to ship way too much in way too little time, delivering gifts late. This would, of course, provide a really bad customer experience.
Second, stores are losing out on a lot of brick-and-mortar sales. Just let a couple of these statistics from Talk Business sink in. Fifty-five percent of customers are uncomfortable going into shopping centers. As if that were not bad enough, 98% do not feel comfortable in public spaces. Businesses no doubt are creating new events to try to capture money that would otherwise not be spent.
How You Can Use this Information
As a customer, know that you have more options to buy gifts than you ever had before. From the moment you read this post to the end of the year, you will probably be able to find gifts for your loved ones on sale. We know the economy is strange right now and cash might be tight, so take advantage of these sales!
If you’re running a business, pay attention to this emerging trend. You may be able to start your holiday sales season earlier than ever. This could create a great opportunity for you to acquire new customers and sell more to existing ones!
There is a legitimate business reason why! The first reason is due to legitimate supply chain concerns. Due to the increase in eCommerce sales in 2020, there is an enormous strain on companies to ship large amounts of items in a short amount of time. The second reason is because companies have been relying on online sales over brick-and-mortar sales while there continues to be shopping center hesitancy.
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