Online retailers are much more optimistic about Christmas than last year

By: Trademagazin Date: 2024. 12. 09. 13:32

The renewed rise in real wages is likely to be reflected in this year’s Christmas spending. 50 percent of online stores selling products that come into focus at this time expect higher turnover compared to last season, while another 28 percent expect a repeat of last year’s level. This is a significant shift compared to the 2023 data: at that time, only 32 percent of retailers expected an increase in turnover – according to the responses of nearly a hundred domestic online stores participating in a quick survey by the price comparison portal Olcsóbbat.hu.

The more positive expectations than before are partly supported by the experiences of online retailers with Black Friday. 44 percent of the total number of respondents organized a sale for this period, and 53 percent of those who held a sale reported an increase in turnover, 21 percent reported stagnation compared to last year, and only 27 percent reported a decline. However, it is a fact that retailers approached this year’s Black Friday season with higher expectations. This is also due to the fact that only 27 percent experienced better turnover than they expected, and the proportion of those who were more or less disappointed reached 35 percent.

Among the explanations given by retailers for the decline in turnover is that more and more customers are ordering from online stores registered abroad (Temu, Shein, AliExpressz, Banggood, etc.), while domestic market leaders and online marketplaces are also driving more and more turnover. Another problem is that home delivery has become significantly more expensive compared to last year, so it may have happened that some purchases were temporarily made offline again.