In this episode I explore the impact of COVID on the holiday shopping season. In the last few days, I have visited several retail stores and notice 2 things. First – the back to school selling season has come and gone without the usual wall-to-wall displays of lunch foods, or school supplies, and the crowds of shoppers lining up for last minute shopping trips. Second – it appears Halloween has been bypassed altogether by retailers with no large confectionery, multi-pack potato chip or costumes displays.
COVID has obviously had an impact — so it gets me wondering if COVID can kill the holiday sales season too as some are forecasting.
My prediction…holiday sales will still thrive because the holiday selling season, which unofficially starts the day after Halloween is already in full swing.
I have already seen many grocery, mass and mall stores change over to holiday theme and merchandise and its only the second week of September!
As a result, shopping behaviours will change. Shoppers are going to start buying gifts much earlier and a key part of their shopper journey will include Ecommerce sites which will be used for pre-planning, checking product availability and searching for the best price whether they buy online or in-store.
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