Holiday shoppers should provide a nice boost to retailers this year, according to the latest research from Cushman & Wakefield.
The company recently released its season spending report. And in good news for retailers, Cushman & Wakefield predicted that holiday-season sales should rise by 4.2 percent this year when compared to 2016.
What’s behind this increase? Cushman & Wakefield pointed to confident consumers. As Cushman reports, in October the Consumer Confidence Index reached its highest point in 17 years. In all, shoppers are expected to spend more than $685 billion this year in holiday purchases.
E-commerce will result in a good portion of this increase. Cushman & Wakefield said that as of the middle of 2017, e-commerce sales had increased 16.2 percent when compared to the mid-point of 2016. Traditional retail sales had only increased by 4.1 percent on a year-over-year basis. As of the second quarter of 2017, e-commerce accounts for 8.9 percent of total retail sales, and this is a figure that retail experts say will only continue to grow.
Shoppers, though, are expected to shop in a variety of ways this holiday season. According to Cushman & Wakefield’s seasonal-spending infographic, 96 percent of shoppers say they plan to make a purchase from retailers who have both an online and physical presence, while 85 percent say they plan to research online before making purchases in-store.
