2020’s holiday shopping experience will be a new normal. Consumers are adapting, embracing new ways of transacting. Are you ready?
Winning the Transaction
The month of October is not typically one in which most start thinking about December holidays, but as the events in the year 2020 continue to disrupt and defy the normalcy of those prior; banks, retailers and consumers are preparing for an early arrival of the holiday season. Are you positioned to win the transaction?
The last six months have accelerated change, led to investments in more advanced technology and provided consumers with greater options for their selected household spend. While still well below February results, consumer spending levels have shown a steady climb in the last three months. What are the critical factors banks need to evaluate and what implications will an issuer face as we approach the beginning of what appears to be a crucial starting point in capturing early retail spend in 2020?
Product Relevancy
Consumers have clearly changed how and when they will pay as well as what type of purchases they will make. Many issuers are stepping up to meet these changing behaviors and ensure they continue to be relevant as we approach this period in the consumer economic calendar. We have seen many clients take steps including adding features, options and protections to enhance spend activity in existing portfolios as well as attract new customers and win the transaction.
What Can We Expect to See?
The early portion of the holiday shopping season seems to have already started with the big-box retailers battling it out with major sales events. Amazon Prime Day, Target’s “Deal Days”, Best Buy’s Black Friday sales and Walmart’s “Big Save Event” are all happening this week (yes, it’s still October) as retailers work to both boost and spread spending activity over the next several weeks. They desperately need the lift and are also concerned about managing potential bottlenecks in pandemic-affected supply chains.
While the continuing economic weakness and high unemployment levels have injected even more uncertainty into this year’s holiday sales activity, most observers expect consumers to be selective in their spending and continue shifting to digital and online retailers. Brick and mortar retailers have been busy smoothing the purchasing process by offering both merchandise pickup and/or delivery to customers’ cars.
Like many other things in 2020, the holiday shopping experience will be a new normal. Consumers are adapting, they are embracing new ways of transacting and expect their banks to do the same. For those institutions who have stayed the course with minimal evolution, ‘winning the transaction’ will be challenging. Are you ready?