CommerceHub Supply Chain Management Survey: Black Friday May Be a Thing of the Past

The data shows that Black Friday is dead, with 70% of consumerssaying that they would not be going out to shop for Black Friday this year. Additionally, 71% of consumers think there are going to be better deals online for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and will hold out on holiday shopping until then – so much for early holiday shopping.

The survey was pulled together by CommerceHub (a company that’s helped 12,000+ top retailers and brands like Best Buy and Walmart grow their ecommerce businesses). For methodology, CommerceHub spoke to more than 2,500 consumers nationwide to find out how the COVID-19 pandemic is changing consumers’ holiday shopping plans.

Other key Black Friday findings include:

• 70% of consumers said product availability and product assortment will be most important when deciding where to shop this holiday season
• Over 70% of respondents said that they are planning to buy more products as gifts this year, as opposed to experiences
• Nearly 50% of respondents said that they didn’t purchase their holiday gifts on Prime Day because the deals weren’t enticing
• 68% said they do not believe it’s safe for parents to have their children visit Santa Claus

The company’s CommerceHub’s SVP of Product & Strategy, Erik Morton, shared the following insights with SCMR in an exclusive interview:

The COVID-19 pandemic brought online shopping to a new level, and it’s here to stay for the holidays

Ecommerce has become all commerce. With the COVID-19 spikes that are happening across the country, shopping for the holidays is undoubtedly going to take place online. In fact, according to our new survey data, there has been over a 40% increase in consumers who said they will be doing more than half of their holiday shopping online.

What’s more, in-store Black Friday is gone as we know it. A majority of our survey respondents (70%) said that they wouldn’t be braving the lines and chaos this year. Even with the news that FedEx and UPS are hiring thousands of workers to account for the online shopping demand, a majority (71%) of consumers think there are going to be better deals online for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and will hold out on holiday shopping until then, potentially pushing the logistics process to its limits.

Consumers are most concerned about encountering out of stocks this holiday shopping season and physical products are at the top of the list

Retailers are grappling with the problem of out-of-stocks right now. In our new survey, we found that more than a quarter of consumers (35%) have encountered out of stocks often while shopping online this year. When asked about what is most important when deciding where to make their purchases this holiday season, 70% of consumers said product availability and product assortment will be most important when deciding where to shop. Additionally, 15% of respondents said they will abandon the site without making any purchases at all if one product they’re searching for is out-of-stock.

Over 70% of respondents said that they are planning to buy more products as gifts this year, as opposed to experiences. Electronics/video games (30%) and apparel/accessories (27%) topped the list for what consumers will be looking to gift. However, it’s clear that consumers are still looking for ways to relieve stress and be comfortable while hunkered down with 20% of respondents saying they will be purchasing loungewear/pajamas and stress relieving products as gifts.

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