There could be a lot of elbow room at the local mall this holiday season as more and more people do their shopping online.
Adobe predicts online sales will hit $124.1 billion during the 2018 holiday season, a new record and a 14.8% increase over the 2017 totals. Sales in traditional brick and mortar stores are expected to increase as well, but only 2.7%.
The big winners, though, are stores that have a physical presence in addition to an online one. Those retailers are expected to see a conversion rate that’s 28% higher than retailers who are solely online.
“As online shopping surges with another record-breaking holiday season, the retailers with compelling websites coupled with physical store locations will have the advantage,” said John Copeland, head of marketing and customer insights at Adobe in a statement. “Many shoppers want to interact with retailers’ products and the brand in-store, and the ability to pick up online orders in-store within a matter of hours can’t be underestimated.”
Cyber Monday, not surprisingly, will be the biggest day of the year, with a predicted $7.7 billion in sales, a 17.6% increase from last year. The peak hours will be from 7-10 p.m. PT, during which, Adobe says, revenues will exceed an average full day in 2018.
Thanksgiving Day sales will also see a spike, climbing 16.5% to $3.3 billion, as people couch shop while fighting the tryptophan in their system.
All totaled, says the firm, nearly one out of every five dollars spent this holiday season will be spent between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday. Retro video consoles, 4K TVs, and games are expected to be the hot items.
