The Road to Recovery: 2020 Shopping Peaks Re-Imagined

Today, Rakuten Advertising launches new consumer insight report, The Road to Recovery: 2020 Shopping Peaks Re-Imagined.

COVID-19 has impacted the way people conduct business and how consumers purchase and interact with brands. In-fact, June saw the global retail forecast for 2020 revised down by over 10%, with e-commerce now anticipated to reach US$190.79 billion.

The fourth quarter of 2020 will be more important for brands than ever before. With 73% of global consumers purchasing primarily online this peak season, retailers will be looking to capitalise on key shopping peaks such as Singles’ Day and Black Friday, to make up for lost sales caused by COVID-19.

To help brands overcome the challenges presented by COVID-19 and understand how consumers will purchase this peak season, Rakuten Advertising surveyed over 8,000 consumers from across Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Europe, the UK, Canada and the USA.  The Road to Recovery: 2020 Shopping Peaks Re-Imagined provides insights into consumer buying behaviour, accompanied by actionable strategies for driving success.

Key findings for brands include:

• Over 70% of consumers don’t plan to decrease spend for 2020 peak shopping days, despite more than 40% of shoppers citing a decrease in household spending due to COVID-19
• 50% of households purchased more from local businesses, 66% increased their online spend, and 35% of consumers searched for deals and offers
• More than 60% of consumers intend to spend during November and December
• 75% of consumers will shop for 1-5 people during the peak shopping season and are most likely to increase spend on their immediate family

In further good news for retailers, the report uncovers that should society face a second wave of restrictions, 51% of global consumers have said they do not place to decrease their peak shopping. The determination to return to normal and not let COVID-19 impact spend on holidays such as Christmas is reflected globally. 54% of consumers have said there would be no change to their spend for key shopping dates in the first half of 2021, including  Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day.

To find out how your consumers have been affected by COVID-19 and how they intend to shop this season, download The Road to Recovery: 2020 Shopping Peaks Re-Imagined and uncover:

• New consumer priorities
• What the next six months hold
• Shifts in peak shopping spend
• Actionable strategies for 2020 shopping peaks
• Regional spotlights