NetElixir Predicts 9% Ecommerce Growth During Highly Competitive 2019 Holiday Season

Retailers must sell 20% more each day to compensate for the shortened ecommerce holiday season.

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Nov 18, 2019, 13:29 ET

PRINCETON, N.J., Nov. 18, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- There are six fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas compared to last year, producing the shortest holiday shopping period since 2013. This is anticipated to affect retailers, who will need to sell 20% more each day just to surpass last year's holiday revenue results.

NetElixir's 9% prediction is lower than the ecommerce growth experienced in recent holiday seasons: U.S. online sales grew 11.5% in 2018 and 13% in 2017, per the National Retail Federation (NRF).

This forecast comes after signs of a gradual slowdown in the third quarter of 2019. Online orders and revenue decreased year-over-year during this period. Another reliable barometer, the back-to-school season, generated underwhelming revenue, order, and average order value results: 9%, 7%, and 3% growth.

NetElixir attributes its projected 9% ecommerce growth to these key factors:

Mobile shopping surges: NetElixir estimates 45% of online purchases and 72% of all searches will occur on a mobile phone.
Better integrated fulfillment: "Near me" searches are driven by mobile devices, along with more prevalent "buy online, pick up in-store" options.
The Voice Search Era: NetElixir estimates 35% of all mobile searches will be voice-activated, indicating less friction in the search-to-purchase process for consumers.

Despite underperformed results, NetElixir predicts continued dominance from Amazon and further strides made by mobile shopping. Amazon's share of total online sales is set to cross 44% this holiday season, according to NetElixir's report. It estimates that over 65% of product searches now occur on Amazon, as the online retail giant flexes as status as the "shopper's search engine."

NetElixir will release results from the biggest shopping days during their 2019 Holiday Cyber 5 Webinar on Wednesday, December 4th.

Methodology
NetElixir's 2019 Holiday Forecast analyzes key retail search metrics and trends for NetElixir's customer base of large and mid-sized businesses with projected revenues over $500 million in ecommerce holiday sales. NetElixir's Retail Intelligence Group applied forecasting models on the aggregated data, investigating specific areas like event ecommerce sales, market share tracking for Amazon vs. the rest of retail ecommerce, basket size variation over time, and other factors. This customer base is expected to attract over 300 million unique website visits across five verticals including gourmet food, apparel and shoes, home and décor, gifting, and consumer electronics. NetElixir has been aggregating this data since August 2008.

About NetElixir
NetElixir is a digital marketing agency with over 15 years of experience working with retailers and helping them succeed online. Its analytical team drives exceptional results and uncover actionable customer insights through a combination of proprietary paid search optimization technology, strategic growth models, and expert campaign management services. Their LXRMarketplace hub provides small businesses and solo entrepreneurs free or low-cost search engine marketing tools. NetElixir is headquartered in Princeton, NJ with wholly-owned subsidiary offices in London and Hyderabad, India. For more information, please visit www.netelixir.com.

Contact:
Heather Daset
[email protected]

SOURCE NetElixir