Why Reviews Matter During the Holiday Shopping Season

Reputation Staff Writer

The 2021 holiday shopping is in full swing, and shoppers are eager to buy. A new JLL survey says that consumers plan to spend an average of $870 per person on holiday expenses in 2021. This is a 25.4 percent increase from last year. And according to ChannelAdvisor, ratings and reviews of retailers will influence how consumers are expected to spend their money. 

ChannelAdvisor and research firm Dynata surveyed 5,000 global consumers to learn how they have started shopping for the 2021 holiday season. The research included 1,000 U.S. consumers. The study found that reviews exert the biggest influence on shoppers’ consideration and motivation next to price:

Shopping consideration and motivation

In addition, the study found that:

At the same time, the importance of price, availability, and delivery speed could spell issues for retailers. That’s because global supply chain issues and the ongoing labor shortage could hurt retailers’ reputations in all of those areas. 

ChannelAdvisor also examined how shoppers are researching products on the internet before buying online. Not surprisingly, Amazon and Google are the top two destinations for research.

Related: What’s Next for Retail? Why Curbside Pick-up is Here to Stay

Where consumers plan to research this holiday season

But among Millennial and Gen Z shoppers, social sites – especially Instagram – are very important:

Retail research infographic

Finally, ChannelAdvisor took a closer look at the rise of the phenomenon of buy online, pick-up in store (BOPIS). Being able to order products online and then either pick them up in a store or at curbside has become increasingly popular in recent years, with both Target and Walmart expanding their curbside pick-up services dramatically. During the pandemic, BOPIS really took off. And BOPIS will figure heavily into many shoppers’ plans:

click and collect infographic

Next Steps for Retailers

All these findings suggest that retailers should:

Contact Reputation

Win holiday shoppers by putting digital tools to work for your business. Reputation helps small businesses synthesize customer reviews from all over the digital world to improve how businesses operate. 

Take a look at our Reviews and Review Booster to learn more about how Reputation can help you. 

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