Ringing In The eCommerce Christmas Season

American consumers have big plans for the holiday season when it comes to their shopping, according to a report.

A new survey by Deloitte revealed that 50 percent of shoppers plan to shop online for their holiday gifts, spending roughly half (47 percent) of their budget online. More than 5,000 consumers in the U.S. were surveyed, and the research showed that physical stores are not likely to see a surge in traffic.

“Retailers must cater to that digital mindset long before someone walks into a store,” Deloitte Vice Chairman Rod Sides said in a press release. “If retailers treat online and in-store shopping as mutually reinforcing rather than competitive forces, they can create more opportunities across the business. Customer expectations are being shaped as much by the digital experience as the in-store experience. As a result, retailers should map digital features that matter to the consumer to their brand.”

According to the study, large physical merchants are expected to see their traffic decrease from 63 percent of consumers last year to 59 percent this year. Specifically, shopping malls will have a drop in traffic from 53 percent to 50 percent, while independent stores outside of malls will decrease from 42 percent to 38 percent.

Based on the numbers, it’s clear that the internet will be the go-to destination for holiday shopping this season.

Shoppers will also continue to use showrooming — doing research in stores before buying online — by a rate of 50 percent. But even more (66 percent) will go for webrooming, which is when they look for an item online but then buy it in-store later.

“In addition, 43 percent of those surveyed say they expect to take advantage of retailers that let you purchase online and pick up in a store (another good sign for Walmart, Target and Best Buy, which all offer that feature),” the report continued.