Holiday shopping trends for 2023

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‘Tis the season to be jolly smart (and fast!) to capitalise on trends influencing when and how people shop and to bump up sales during the festive period. Here, influencer marketing group, Nfinity Influencer, looks at key trends defining e-commerce.

Early-Bird and Online

The days of rushing around a shopping mall two days before Christmas are numbered. According to Albert Makoeng, Sales Director at Nfinity Influencer 58% of consumers are starting their holiday shopping as early as October.

“They’re doing this to spread costs, get what they need in time, benefit from promotions and discounts, and are increasingly “clicking to cart” and doing their holiday shopping where it’s easiest: online”.

According to Accenture Holiday Shopping Survey 2022, during last year’s holiday season, consumers spent a total of $1.14 trillion online globally and $270 billion in the U.S. alone. “While we don’t have access to all local e-commerce numbers, judging by the growth in influencer marketing campaigns being executed, we can only assume that South African businesses are experiencing similar growth,” says Makoeng.

The Potent Scroll

In line with the overarching influence of social media on buying behaviour (data from Deloitte shows that 64% of digital buyers discover brands and products via social media), holiday shopping is also getting more and more ‘social’.

According to research by Salesforce between March and May 2023, more than half of consumers said they bought an item in-store that they discovered via their social media feeds. This is bolstered by the pervasive power of influencer marketing, and how, globally, 67% of social media users would consider a brand/product if promoted by their favourite influencer. The same rules apply to SA.

All Eyes on Gen Z

With Millennials and Gen Z starting to dictate shopping trends through their behaviours, such as the platforms they use and preferences for authentic product reviews versus brand advertisements, social media has become an instrumental channel to influence buying decisions. Consequently, a robust strategy is a must-have for all business and brands this holiday season.

Like a best friend recommending the perfect gift or the ultimate holiday must-have, influencers inspire more than 80% of younger consumers’ holiday-buying decisions, according to McKinsey. That means that, in addition to the usual advantages such as amplified reach and authentic, engaging content, the trust and credibility influencers provide results in them have the power to influence and increase a large part of your holiday sales.

As a result, and with the second-highest ROI after short-form video content, influencer marketing spend on Instagram will top over $2.75 billion this year, followed by YouTube ($1.09 billion), TikTok ($1.05 billion), and Facebook ($839.9 million).

How businesses can pull something creative out of the stocking this season

The holiday season is an awesome opportunity to add spice to your marketing campaigns and, in line with holiday shopping trends, to reconsider how you work with social media influencers.

Whether through collaborative gift guides, holiday discount codes, virtual demos, exclusive unboxings, holiday challenges, or festive storytelling and behind-the-scenes, there are a multitude of ways to work with social media influencers that ‘TikTok’ all the holiday boxes.

For a comprehensive influencer strategy, get in touch with Nfinity Influencer.

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