In 2018, Holiday Shoppers Are Losing Trust In Social Media, Prefer Retailers With Physical Storefronts

It’s officially November, which means the ~mooost lucrative tiiiime of the year~ for retailers is upon us. Businesses and shoppers alike are prepping their game plans for Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the surrounding days, and Adobe is here once again with its annual online shopping predictions report — the most comprehensive of its kind. As we know, holiday shopping has largely moved from physical stores to e-commerce sites. Adobe predicts that a record $124.1 billion will be spent online this season, up nearly 15 percent from last year. Comparatively, offline retail is expected to grow only 2.7 percent. That said, Adobe found that there are major benefits to retailers having a physical storefront in addition to e-commerce. Because so many shoppers like to visit stores to see product IRL and then purchase it online, and due to the popularity of buy online/pickup in-store services, retailers with a physical store footprint have a 28-percent higher conversion rate than those without. Buy online/pickup in-store services have become especially popular this year, with sales more than doubling since January 2018. It’s predicted to be particularly impactful for last-minute gifts. Read more at Fashionista.