What will 2021 winter sales look like? (1)

05/01/2021
  • By now we are already into them, but... Have you stopped to think about what the 2021 winter eCommerce and retail sales will be like? We have.

  • We are living in a historical period that is marking everything. COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on commerce, consumers and businesses.

    Nothing is normal at all, so it is foreseeable that 2021 winter sales will not be safe either from everything that is dragging this virus that is turning everything upside down. Let's see what the most widespread forecasts and trends are.
  • Keys to the 2021 Winter Sales

  • Some of these trends come from behind and others have simply been conditioned by context. It is quite clear that these 5 aspects that we are going to talk about will make a difference next month.
  • #1 – They are getting less important

  • This is not something we can blame on the coronavirus. In fact, we have been seeing a certain decline in customer interest in the January sales (a real seasonal highlight not so long ago). Why is this the case? Well, it is due to different questions.

    On the one hand, we have a freer market in terms of sales and offers. It is relatively easy to find bargains all year round. In addition, the portfolios arrive exhausted at the beginning of the year. It's no longer just a matter of Christmas campaign: we are also affected by the fact that we have been dragging the Black Friday effect on since November.
  • #2 – Economic crisis and uncertainty

  • It is said that money is easily scared. It may sound like a catchphrase, but it is true.

    One of the main brakes on online and offline sales is precisely uncertainty. A context of job and financial instability like the one we are living in makes customers much more reflexive when it comes to facing purchases (goodbye to impulse buying).

    And that is in the case of those who have doubts about their short and medium-term future. Unfortunately, others already have the certainty of reduced income in their families.
  • The result is a lower average budget for the winter sales. According to the portal Iahorro, the Spanish will devote only 93 euros to their purchases in this period (3.3% less than in 2020).

    All this has a decisive influence when it comes to creating a mood that is not favorable to the purchase of anything that is not indispensable.
  • #3 – More eCommerce... yet

  • Of course, the coronavirus has accelerated even further the cruising speed that e-commerce already carried. This is a fact that cannot be doubted.

    Obviously, during the hardest phase of the lockdown, retail options simply disappeared. Stores closed and there was no other way to shop than via the Internet. This generated an inertia that is still noticeable, and opened the channel to new, reluctant users.

    Then came a certain opening, the hope of vaccines... but also a third wave that coincided, precisely, with January and winter sales.

    This sends many stores to the start line (in the best case scenario). With the new restrictions, we are forcing ourselves to live through online sales or, directly, to not have them at all.
  • #4 – Niches and segments that do not take off

  • National authorities rule out a total new lockdown, but public opinion is concerned that contagion is on the rise and even in other countries around us, radically tightening up the measures.

    Somehow, this favors the same niches that grew during the confinement (home entertainment, exercise and physical care, furniture ...) and penalizes others such as tourism, outdoor recreation, hospitality or, this is striking, the textile sector, which is being hit hard by this crisis.

    Surely, depending on how vaccination issue is dealt with, they will not start coming out of the tunnel until the summer season.
  • #5 – Changing consumption patterns

  • I am not just talking about companies that have completely transformed their business model. This will have a greater influence on the balance of competition from one point to another and, therefore, on the level of sales. But I want to go to what to buy rather than who to buy from.
  • A good example is the cosmetics segment. Here we see how sales of eye products have increased in the same proportion as those for lips.  This will be confirmed during the January sales.
  • What are your forecasts for 2021 winter sales? Do you expect a significant increase in purchases in January? In Oleoshop we want you to achieve your goals and share the result with us.

  • Images | Unsplash.

Miguel Nicolás


Miguel Nicolás O'Shea is a life-long copywriter (more than 15 years working in agencies) and a specialist in Search Marketing (SEO and PPC). From now on, he will contribute with his online marketing experience to Oleoshop, publishing regularly.

search posts

Last posts

This website stores data as cookies to enable the necessary functionality of the site, including analytics and personalization. You can change your settings at any time or accept the default settings.

cookies policy

Essentials

Necessary cookies help make a web page usable by activating basic functions such as page navigation and access to secure areas of the web page. The website cannot function properly without these cookies.


Personalization

Personalization cookies allow the website to remember information that changes the way the page behaves or the way it looks, such as your preferred language or the region in which you are located.


Analysis

Statistical cookies help web page owners understand how visitors interact with web pages by collecting and providing information anonymously.


Marketing

Marketing cookies are used to track visitors on web pages. The intention is to show ads relevant and attractive to the individual user, and therefore more valuable to publishers and third-party advertisers.