Last week was the first week of the 2015 NFL season, and before you know it, we'll be approaching November, and you know what that means: it's officially holiday shopping season. That's the make or break season for most eCommerce brands, and preparation is key if you want to end the year on a great note.
Speaking of preparation, according to research put together by ChannelAdvisor, 59% of brands planned to start their 2015 holiday shopping prep in September, with 29% of U.S. respondents to the 2015 Online Retail Survey reporting that they planned on preparing earlier in 2015 than they did last year.
That type of early preparation makes sense, especially when you consider the fact that 74% of businesses said that the holiday shopping season accounted for at least 20% of their annual sales, with 43% saying that the holiday shopping season yielded anywhere from 20-29% of their annual sales.
In terms of which channels perform the best during the holiday shopping season, it's clear to see that Amazon trumps all, with 50% of sales in the U.S. coming via Amazon, with the brands' websites ranking second, at 23%, followed by third-party marketplaces not named Amazon or eBay (10%), paid search (7%), and Google Shopping (4%), which technically is a form of paid search.
When viewing the infographic, it's clear that Black Friday is the most profitable holiday shopping day for most businesses, and eCommerce brands of all sizes should feel encouraged that 82% of businesses who took the survey expect their holiday sales to grow in 2015, with 21% of them estimating that sales will increase by more than 15%.
Check out the rest of the infographic to find out what date you need to order by to guarantee shipping by Christmas as well as the types of businesses that were included in the survey that helped make this infographic possible.
Infographic via ChannelAdvisor (h/t Web Magazine)
Thumbnail image via Shutterstock