The holiday season is right around the corner, and with retailers gearing up for the busiest time of the year, it's becoming increasingly imperative to understand the ever-evolving consumer mindset.
To address this, Veho conducted a survey involving 1,000 U.S. consumers. The findings yielded invaluable insights into holiday shopping habits, unveiling key findings that can guide retailers looking to enhance the shopping experience this festive season.
Here’s what we found:
Online shopping is preferred.
E-commerce will play a huge role in holiday shopping this year. Over half (55%) of consumers suggest they’ll do at least half of their shopping online while 28% plan to do a majority online. This means retailers would be wise to ensure their e-commerce experience meets consumer demands and expectations, keeping a close eye on shipping.
Shipping is more stressful than shopping.
Over a third of survey respondents (36%) said the top pain point during the holidays is lost or delayed packages.
A poor experience with holiday shipping, especially when not addressed, can result in the permanent loss of a customer. To ensure that doesn’t happen, it’s critical for businesses to prevent lost or damaged gifts by partnering with top-tier shipping experience providers. Providing exceptional customer service before, during, and after complications arise is paramount for fostering customer satisfaction and retention.
Timeliness and speed are key.
Two-thirds of respondents (67%) said 5-7 business days is the typical time they are willing to wait for a package to arrive.
Shoppers expect their packages to arrive quickly and on time. Ensure that you’re planning and forecasting correctly to mitigate delays. If delays occur—be transparent. Communicate any changes to your carriers and customers to reduce miscommunication, further delays, and frustration.
Returns are too complicated.
Returns are a common pain point when it comes to holiday shopping. And while, over half of customers (57%) said they make returns several days after receiving a gift, nearly 30% noted procrastinating on the task for several weeks. Overall, this shows us that most people know if they plan to return a gift right when they open it, but many still put off the task for days and weeks. In fact, returns are viewed as such a hassle that 29% of customers still have an item sitting in their house that they still need to return.
But when return windows are a factor, nearly half (44%) of the total respondents will keep unwanted items when the return window expires while 74% say they won’t return a gift at all if it has to be shipped back. The excess work created by boxing, labeling, and physically taking the items to the store is a hassle that consumers would prefer not to deal with. However, 78% of respondents say that they would shop with a retailer more often than others if they offered doorstep pickup for returns. What’s this mean? Making returns easier for your customers can lead to better retainment.
Overall, increasing accessibility by implementing free returns or offering at-home doorstep pickup options makes returns less painful and more accessible, leading to repeat purchases and increased brand loyalty.
The Veho Difference
Wondering how to get ahead of shopper trends and succeed during peak season? Veho is here to help.
Veho helps apparel brands stand out against the competition by exceeding customer shipping expectations during the holiday season. Veho focuses on fast and on-time delivery experiences, with an over 99% on-time delivery rate. By setting and delivering on promises to your customers, you’ll set your brand and your shoppers up for success.
With convenient returns via Doorstep Pickup, Veho can also help apparel brands increase customer consideration, satisfaction, and customer lifetime value. Differentiate your brand during this holiday season with more convenient returns options.
Looking for a partner that can help you win customers during peak? Veho offers next-day and two-day Last Mile Delivery, and pain-free, label-less Doorstep Pickups.
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