Holiday shopping 2020: a lot different for everyone

Holiday shopping will be a lot different in 2020 for consumers and retailers alike.

New habits, routines and lifestyle changes forced by the COVID-19 pandemic means buyers aren't sure exactly what Christmas will be like, and retailers likely aren't sure what to expect or how to promote the shopping season properly.

Some early indicators, however, suggest the way retailers have conducted their corporate affairs during America's worst public health crisis in a century will be a factor in buyers' decision making.

In its annual holiday shopping survey, the consulting firm Accenture found that 57 percent of the 1,500 consumers polled said they would "be inspired to shop with a retailer that supported their staff and customers during the crisis." More than 75 percent said they want retailers to give all employees the Thanksgiving holiday off to spend with family, while 41 percent said they flat-out will not shop with retailers who laid off staff or reduced benefits because of the pandemic.

"Now is the time for retailers to be authentic to their purpose and transparent about how they treat employees," said Jill Standish - Accenture's Senior Managing Director and Global Lead for Retail​ - in the consulting firm's official September 30 release of the survey. She called 2020 "a very 'human' holiday season for consumers."

Meanwhile, the Deloitte 2020 retail survey took a deeper look into the specific pandemic-related factors impacting consumer shopping behavior. Of the shoppers they surveyed, 49 percent said a vaccine would be key to helping them return to pre-pandemic shopping behaviors, while roughly 33 percent said their financial condition has worsened during the public health crisis. Deloitte also found that 40 percent of those polled plan to spend less than last year on holiday purchases. More than half are uneasy and axious about shopping in-store during the busy Christmas buying season.

Has the pandemic driven online shopping to new heights? Absolutely.

The research and consumer data firm Digital Commerce 360 reported that by moving its "Prime Day" shopping event from July to October, Amazon basically reset the holiday shopping season to an earlier online start. Sales during the two-day event (Oct. 13 and 14) crushed 2019 numbers by 45 percent - rising from $7.16 billion in July 2019 to $10.4 billion in October 2020.

Still, Digital Commerce 360 cites both Pitney Bowes Inc., the logistics vendor, and data firm Morning Intelligence in reporting that many holiday shoppers are still holding off until the more traditional Christmas buying weeks. According to them, 26 percent of consumers surveyed have started but not finished their holiday shopping and only 6 percent have completed it.

Other key data:

Forrester predicts online holiday retail sales will grow by 18.5 percent in 2020 - pushing the overall share of holiday spending that online sales represents past 20 percent.

Nesting is at an all-time high during the pandemic and with evolving stay-at-home guidance from public health officials. That means home fitness equipment, decor and comfort-first clothing will be popular holiday gift items.

As many as 700 million packages are at risk of not arriving on time this holiday season, according to Salesforce. The problem: increased online orders and social distancing rules in large warehouse facilities will impact capacity and workflow at major shippers DHL, UPS, FedEx.