
The month that used to be key for festive season sales seems to have become a lower contendor — for some shoppers at least — a new report from ESW shows.
According to the direct-to-consumer e-commerce giant, 64 per cent of worldwide buyers will shop in November as Singles Day (11th November) and Black Friday (24th November) capture the majority of consumer spend, with only 23 per cent planning to buy in December.
For its Global Voices Research, it polled over 18,000 consumers in 18 countries and discovered that the majority of shoppers in China (75 per cent), India (60 per cent), the United Kingdom (58 per cent), Mexico (53 per cent), and the United States (51 per cent), will shop before Black Friday.
Across the season, there is some positive news for fashion and cosmetics. In 2023, the most popular gifting categories globally will be clothes (40 per cent), scent and cosmetics (37 per cent), and toys and games (34 per cent). Millennials and Generation Z aim to spend money on clothing (38 per cent and 43 per cent, respectively), fragrance and cosmetics (37 per cent and 44 per cent), and accessories (36 per cent and 38 per cent).
This, along with Amazon Prime’s Early Access Sale in mid-October and the propensity for businesses to announce Black Friday deals several weeks before the big day, “is pushing the ‘Peak’ shopping season forward for shoppers looking for gift deals, we’re told.”
Black Friday, which earned US $ 65.3 billion in 2022, remains the most popular holiday shopping event in Brazil, with 40 per cent of shoppers participating, followed by South Africa (39 per cent), and Italy (39 per cent). However, it is currently the least popular holiday shopping day in China (3 per cent), India (7 per cent) and Argentina (10 per cent), with overall global demand dropping sharply to just 2 per cent for Cyber Monday bargains before rising to 23 per cent for the month of December.
Globally, 43 per cent of respondents in ESW’s survey plan to spend the same amount as last year during the 2023 Christmas season, with 30 per cent spending less and 27 per cent spending more year on year.
By market, more buyers will spend more in India (60 per cent), the UAE (49 per cent), and China (42 per cent). Meanwhile, the countries with the lowest spending will be France and Germany (both 40 per cent), Australia (38 per cent), and Canada (37 per cent). report the largest proportion of shoppers planning to spend less.