Bazaarvoice didn't break out online into desktop vs. mobile but based on last year's holiday sales trends, mobile will likely be an ecommerce driver. Salesforce estimates that this year, mobile phones will be responsible for more online orders than desktop (46% vs. 44%). Additionally, mobile will be a conduit for 68% of all ecommerce traffic this holiday season, up 19% from 2017.
Despite ecommerce's annual gains, more US consumers still shop in-store, which holds true during the holiday season. According to Gartner L2, close to 85% of holiday sales last year occurred in physical stores.
More internet users in the Bazaarvoice study said they were going to conduct at least half of their holiday shopping in-store than online (65%). Logically, the top reason for shopping in-store during the holidays was to see products in person (75%). But brick-and-mortar also provides emotional benefits that are hard to reproduce online; 42% said they shop in-store for the holiday ambiance and 27% to spend time with family.
Even so, a family trip to pick out a Christmas tree could be a thing of the past if Amazon has anything to do with it. The online retailer, trying to digitize every aspect of traditional retail, announced last week it would sell and ship live Christmas trees as tall as 7 feet this year.