Ask The Experts: Holiday Shopping 2017 Season Edition

To provide an even deeper insight into the season of holiday shopping in 2017, we decided to ask the group of experts to share their thoughts on several important issues. Today's experts from the following universities: NYU Stern Business School, Georgia State University and Mississippi University.

Russell S. Wiener - School of Business NYU Stern

Russell S. Wiener is Professor of Marketing William Joyce at the Stern School of Business, New York University.

1. How will the season of 2017 holidays differ from previous years?

I do not see the trend of changing online purchases on the Internet. Retail markets for bricks and mortars continue to risk their business, broken by Amazon and other vertical brands such as Bonobos, Casper and Warby Parker. Especially retailers of the middle class, such as JC Penney and Macy's, will have to worry about offering consumer impressions like Amazon, etc.

2. With the growth in the number of purchases on the Internet, which in recent years are becoming more popular, the traditional purchase of shops for the sale of bricks and mortar during the holidays is dying?

See above. I would not say that he is dying, but it certainly hurts and will continue to do so if they can not turn it like Best Buy. See a good article about them in today's New York Times.

3. How does Amazon affect holiday shopping in general?

With them, it becomes increasingly difficult to compete, especially because they carry so many brands. Some, like Nike, tried to resist, but finally collapsed. Amazon also affects the logistics chain, as the volume of their activities affects UPS, Fed Ex, DHL and all shippers.

4. How important is Black Friday in 2017?

I think this is becoming less important, since consumers are buying as well as online.

5. Experts for many years have called Cyber ​​Monday a trick. Is this the final reception for holidaymakers?

I do not think it's going away. Do not forget that online still remains a small percentage of total retail sales. Even during the holidays this is only about 15% of retail trade, but this share is growing.

6. What is the future of Thanksgiving shopping? Many people are against open stores, but the costs of online shopping for Thanksgiving in 2016 were higher than ever (http://news.adobe.com/press-release/marketing-cloud/media-alert-adobe- data-shows-black -friday-breaks-online sales record-3).

I do not think that being open for Thanksgiving will help the sellers of bricks and mortars, which gave very much what you specify. If you want to shop on that day, just do it at home while everyone is napping.

Denish Shah - State University of Georgia

Denish Shah is an assistant professor of marketing for Barbara and Elmer on Sunday and director of the Master of Science in Marketing and speaks at the Insight Institute's Scientific Council at the Georgia State University.

1. How will the season of 2017 holidays differ from previous years?

Given that the unemployment rate in the US at a historical low and assuming that we do not face any global crisis, the seasonal seasonal season of 2017 is expected to break the reports on the number of dollars spent. It is expected that the share of online sales will be the highest in 2017 compared to previous years.

2. With the growth in the number of purchases on the Internet, which in recent years are becoming more popular, the traditional purchase of shops for the sale of bricks and mortar during the holidays is dying?

Definitely, the unambiguous trend of online sales is becoming more popular. This is closely related to a general change in consumer habits of consumers, who now prefer to shop online (if possible), and not in the store. Nevertheless, it is still too early to predict the death of traditional purchases from retailers of bricks and mortars. Buying a brick and a mortar is popular among older demographic groups and is critically important for procrastinators. Holiday purchases on Super Saturday (on Saturday before Christmas) exceed sales of Black Friday at the moment. In the short and medium term, I expect that traditional purchases of bricks and mortar will fall, and then decline, to show a flat trend where it will coexist with online sales.

3. How does Amazon affect holiday shopping in general?

Amazon has a loyal customer base that is used to buying online. Online deals with Amazon (during the holiday season) are forcing traditional retailers of bricks and mortars (including Wal-Mart) to become more aggressive with online deals during the holiday season. In the end, the consumer trade budget is a zero-sum game. The more a consumer spends on Amazon, the less it will spend on other retailers. With the primary goal of capturing the share of the consumer's wallet, traditional retailers must take the fight online during holiday shopping or risk losing Amazon.

4. How important is Black Friday in 2017?

Please see My answer for No. #5 below.

5. Experts for many years have called Cyber ​​Monday a trick. Is this the final reception for holidaymakers?

Black Friday and Cyber ​​Monday have been and will remain important for retailers in terms of increasing sales. What has changed over the years (and we'll see it in 2017) is that the importance of Black Friday and Cyber ​​Monday as a one-day event fades. This is due to the fact that retailers began to offer their advertising for a few days, not on that particular day. For example, several retailers now offer steep promotions on the day of Thanksgiving itself, and retailers such as Amazon and Wal-Mart offer online deals all week a week on Cyber ​​Monday.

6. What is the future of Thanksgiving shopping? Many people are against open stores, but the costs of online shopping for Thanksgiving in 2016 were higher than ever (http://news.adobe.com/press-release/marketing-cloud/media-alert-adobe- data-shows-black -friday-breaks-online sales record-3).

Obviously, there will be more action on the Internet. Traditional retailers can leave their stores closed for Thanksgiving and just concentrate on online deals that day. In some ways, this can be a win-win for everyone, as families of consumers and employees celebrating Thanksgiving are spending time with their family home, rather than standing in long lines or fighting for parking in shopping malls.

7. Mobile costs are higher than ever, for Thanksgiving, Black Friday and in general (http://news.adobe.com/press-release/marketing-cloud/media-alert-adobe-data-shows-black- friday-breaks-online sales record-3). Are there any consequences for this related to the stores that people buy, what they buy, how much they spend and when they make their holiday purchases?

Increasing the cost of mobile communications is further evidence of the growing popularity of online shopping. Mobile is another convenient platform / tool for searching and buying on the Internet. Consumers today have 2 options: (a) Stand in long queues at each retail store, crowd around with the crowd (this can be naughty), and fight for parking and shopping carts OR (b) Shop out the convenience of your home through their PC , tablet or mobile device. Online stores, such as Amazon, have guaranteed that a lot of great offers are available on the Internet. The choice of the latter option from the point of view of the consumer is becoming increasingly problematic.

Dr. Christopher Newman - University of Mississippi

Dr. Christopher Newman is an associate professor in marketing at Ole Miss and teaches the course in Retail Strategy. He also conducts his research in the field of retail.

1. How will the season of 2017 holidays differ from previous years?

Expect to see (even) more buyers buying online to avoid large crowds and lines. The ever-growing number of Cyber ​​Monday deals, combined with faster delivery and delivery in stores, will also promote online sales.

2. With the growth in the number of purchases on the Internet, which in recent years are becoming more popular, the traditional purchase of shops for the sale of bricks and mortar during the holidays is dying?

The growth of online purchases makes it increasingly difficult for retailers to build and / or maintain relationships with customers due to the reduction of face-to-face interaction. This also limits the ability of retailers to effectively increase consumer demand and recover from service disruptions.

3. How does Amazon affect holiday shopping in general?

Amazon, obviously, is a huge factor in the appearance of online purchases. This forces other retailers to invest more in their websites and applications, and also offer more convenient online purchase options for online orders. It seems that Amazon is forcing its competitors to reduce delivery time and rates, as consumers become more familiar (and require) a quick and free delivery.

4. How important is Black Friday in 2017?

Black Friday itself is not as important as the weeks before and after it. Simply put, "Black Friday" and "Cyber-Monday" have grown in the race to see which retailer can get the most beneficial offers to the public.

5. Experts for many years have called Cyber ​​Monday a trick. Is this the final reception for holidaymakers?

Cyber ​​Monday was a real (and other) extension of Black Friday. That is, Black Friday usually took place on Friday, and the vast majority of transactions were found in the store, while Cyber ​​Monday offered mostly online deals in three days. But omnidirectional retail and competitive pressures led to the merger of two into one event, which lasts weeks and weeks.

6. What is the future of Thanksgiving shopping? Many people are against open stores, but the costs of online shopping for Thanksgiving in 2016 were higher than ever (http://news.adobe.com/press-release/marketing-cloud/media-alert-adobe- data-shows-black -friday-breaks-online sales record-3).

Expect the growth of online shopping, to outstrip the growth of purchases in the store on Thanksgiving Day, moving forward. Internet shopping allows consumers to get great deals during Thanksgiving, while spending time with their families at home. This is the best of both worlds.

7. Mobile costs are higher than ever, for Thanksgiving, Black Friday and in general (http://news.adobe.com/press-release/marketing-cloud/media-alert-adobe-data-shows-black- friday-breaks-online sales record-3). Are there any consequences for this related to the stores that people buy, what they buy, how much they spend and when they make their holiday purchases?

My colleagues and I conduct research that will be published in the near future, which indicates that consumers are less likely to shop at a brick and mortar store for retailers, when they can instead make purchases with an easy-to-use mobile application for retail. The main reason for this switch of preferences is related to how interesting and can be used these applications. That is, the simpler the application is to use, the more connected the consumer gets, and the less likely it is that he / she should shop at a physical retail store. So, it's an interesting paradox for retailers: they invest huge sums of money to provide their customers with easy-to-use applications just to drive them away from their stores. This significantly limits the retailer's ability to interact face to face with customers, provide personal service, loyalty, and also engage in advertising and additional sales.

We would like to thank Mr. Wiener, Mr. Shah and Mr. Newman for answering our questions and agreeing to include in our first edition "Ask the Experts" for the 2017 holiday season. If you have not already done so, check out our review of the holiday season in 2017.