The days of holiday shopping in a crowded mall, waiting in line after Thanksgiving dinners and frantically hopping from store to store hoping to cross everyone off your list are over. With COVID-19 and new social distancing measures in place, stores are having to adjust what the busiest season will look like. E-Commerce will most likely see a massive jump, and advertisers will be taking advantage of online ads that lead directly to sales and promotions.
Here’s what brands are doing to adjust to this new normal for holiday shopping, from early sales to an online shift.
Some brands are beginning their holiday sales earlier, and most sales will be extended throughout November. Amazon Prime day might come as early as mid-October this year, and Black Friday deals could begin by the end of the month. Black Friday will still happen, but it won’t be the mad dash and shoulder to shoulder experience from years past. Fights might still break out, but all customers will be encouraged to keep six feet apart and wear masks at all times. This means shouting matches over who grabbed the toy first are okay, but physical altercations will be off-limits.
For those wishing to avoid the anxiety and chaos of Black Friday, there will always be online shopping. Once COVID-19 first broke out in the States and stay-at-home orders were issued in April, online shopping experienced a dramatic increase. According to Forbes, e-commerce saw a 129% increase, with overall online orders increasing by 146% since the last year by April alone. It can be expected that with shoppers wanting to limit their exposure risks before seeing family for the holidays, online shopping will see another increase.
Additionally, most retail stores are offering pickup options this year, so customers can do their shopping online but don’t have to pay for shipping. This is ideal for the consumers who don’t want to do all their shopping online and still want to get the annual experience of going to shopping centers and malls that are all decked out for the holidays, but don’t want to deal with crowds. It can also help those shoppers on a budget, since switching to online shopping can rack up some serious shipping charges, and there’s no worrying about gifts coming in on-time.
The holidays are going to look different this year, and with the uncertainties ahead there’s no way to know if they’re changing for good or if we’ll one day go back to how things were. No matter how you want to shop this year, brands are preparing to accommodate every type of holiday shopper safely, and there are plenty of options to take advantage of.
