eBay: Online holiday spending will hold steady

Consumer plans for online holiday shopping this year look promising for e-commerce retailers.

According to the recent eBay Ads Annual Holiday Survey of 2,000 online shoppers and 1,500 eBay shoppers in the U.S., seven in 10 surveyed online shoppers (71%) said they plan to spend the same or more during the 2022 holiday season than they did the prior year. Surveyed eBay shoppers showed a similar trend, with 68% planning to spend the same or more on their holiday purchases compared to 2021.

Younger consumers are much less likely to spend more online during the upcoming holiday season than they did in 2021. While more than half of surveyed Gen Z online shoppers (55%) plan to spend more this holiday season than they did last year, only 39% of surveyed millennial shoppers intend to do the same. 

Despite these plans, eight in 10 (81%) surveyed online shoppers still consider a getting a good deal as their top holiday e-commerce priority. More than six in 10 (63%) surveyed online shoppers report they are likely to purchase a sponsored (promoted) item during the holiday season.

eBay also released some data specific to surveyed eBay shoppers:

• More than nine in 10 (92%) eBay shoppers reported that they plan to do most of their shopping online this year. This is a significant increase from 2021, when 79% of surveyed eBay shoppers said they would do at least some of their holiday shopping in store, and 55% said they would do all of their holiday shopping online.
• Additionally, 83% of surveyed eBay shoppers said it’s likely they will view an item at the top of their search results and then go on to purchase it.

“Talk about a huge jump in adoption over the course of one year,” eBay said in a corporate blog post. “It is safe to say e-commerce is here to stay.”

Mastercard: Holiday sales look happy for retailers
The recent Mastercard SpendingPulse annual holiday forecast confirms some of eBay’s findings. The forecast indicates that during the upcoming 2022 holiday season, U.S. retail sales excluding automotive are expected to increase 7.1% year over year. This follows 8.5% annual growth Mastercard SpendingPulse recorded during the 2021 holiday season.

According to the analysis, key 2022 holiday sales trends to watch include:

• Extended holiday shopping: Some of the season’s retail growth is expected to be pulled forward in October (Mastercard SpendingPulse analyzes the holiday season as officially occurring from Nov. 1- Dec. 24) as consumers hunt for early deals. Key promotional days like Black Friday weekend are also expected to make a strong return, along with Christmas Eve, which falls on a Saturday this year and is expected to be among the biggest days for retailers and last-minute shoppers.
• Season of savings: Consumers are looking to stretch their dollars in the face of inflation. E-commerce is anticipated to increase despite significant growth in the 2021 holiday season, as the channel remains a convenient way for consumers to check prices in real time.