- RetailNext announces positive forecast for U.S. retail performance over the November-December Holiday period
Mobile to Drive Sales Increases as Retailers Plot Their Most Important Quarter
SAN JOSE, Calif., 2017-Sep-20 — /EPR Retail News/ — Today (Sept. 19, 2017), RetailNext Inc., the worldwide expert and market leader in IoT smart store retail analytics for optimizing shopper experiences, announced a positive forecast for U.S. retail performance over the November through December Holiday period, predicting a 3.8 percent year-over-year (YoY) lift in sales, driven in party by a 14.9 percent increase in YoY sales through digital channels.
Based on current retail trends and broader macro-economic data, RetailNext’s forecast for U.S. retail stores during Holiday 2017 (November – December) includes:
- 3.8 percent increase in overall sales YoY for the U.S. retail sector (excluding automobiles and petroleum), with margins consistent with recent holiday seasons
- Digital sales increase 14.9 percent YoY, while brick-and-mortar stores can expect a 2.1 percent increase in sales YoY
- Top seasonal performers will include off-price, warehouse clubs, do-it-yourself (DIY) home improvement and specialty stores in the jewelry, men’s fashion and home furnishings segments
- Department stores and larger format discount stores will be most challenged and generally trend downward 3-4 percent, with only a few high performers bucking the negative trend
- Total online and mail order sales will represent 13.5 percent of total sales in November and December
- Total annual retail sales are on track to surpass $5 trillion in 2017, and online sales should break through the $550 billion level
“Holiday 2016 saw consumers slightly shift some of their holiday purchasing from October into November and December, and represents a trend of shoppers waiting until closer to actual events to make their purchases,” said Shelley E. Kohan, vice president of retail consulting at RetailNext. “A continuation of those shopper behaviors will put even greater emphasis for retail to make the most of the last two months of the calendar year.”
“Related to the calendar,” continued Kohan, “Black Friday has turned into a month-long shopping event that starts as soon as the trick-or-treaters turn in on Halloween. Mobile shopping will continue its growing importance in the shopping journey, placing increasing pressure on retailers to seamlessly deliver branded experiences across all shopping touchpoints, both online and in-store. As a result, the industry will see more online purchases on Thanksgiving and Black Friday than it will on Cyber Monday itself, as retailers work hard to create online/in-store synergies within their organizations to serve engaged, empowered and captivated shoppers.”
Retail Performance Pulse flash reporting
RetailNext will again publish its daily Thanksgiving Flash, a composite of key in-store retail metrics for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, designed to highlight macro retail performance and enable brick-and-mortar retailers and media to benchmark performance with frequent, near real-time updates. Based on the monthly Retail Performance Pulse, the Flash is developed from specialty and large format retail stores on the RetailNext analytics platform within the continental United States, and will be available starting Friday, November 24.
About RetailNext
The first retail vertical IoT platform to bring e-commerce style shopper analytics to brick-and-mortar stores, brands and malls, RetailNext is a pioneer in focusing entirely on optimizing the shopper experience. Through its centralized SaaS platform, RetailNext automatically collects and analyzes shopper behavior data, providing retailers with insight to improve the shopper experience real time.
More than 350 retailers in over 70 countries have adopted RetailNext’s analytics software and retail expertise to better understand the shopper journey in order to increase same-store sales, reduce theft and eliminate unnecessary costs. RetailNext is headquartered in San Jose, Calif. Learn more at www.retailnext.net.
Media Contact:
Ray Hartjen
RetailNext, Inc.
(925) 895-5441
ray.hartjen@retailnext.net
RetailNext Inc. and RetailNext are trademarks of RetailNext Inc. in the United States.
Source: RetailNext Inc.
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