After this year’s successful Black Friday edition, Brazilians are still not over the seasonal shopping spree: according to research carried out by the Confederação Nacional de Dirigentes Lojistas (CNDL) and the Serviço de Proteção ao Crédito (SPC Brasil), 77% of Brazilian consumers will purchase Christmas gifts this year. In addition, 41% said they will go online for their holiday shopping, and another 41% said they will buy in physical department stores.
This year, the internet will play an even more valuable role in price checking: 86% of interviewees said they will compare prices online. In addition, eight out of ten said they will purchase at least half of their gifts in ecommerce stores. Competitive prices, discounts, and customer service are the main reasons that influence consumers’ decisions about where to shop.
Customers are also willing to spend more on presents for family and friends this year. The study shows that 37% of shoppers said they will increase expenses, and every gift will cost an average of BRL 124,99. As for product preference, 58% said they would shop for clothes this season, with toys coming in second with 40%.
Installment payments in Christmas shopping
While many consumers still prefer cash payments, installments will also play an important role this season. According to CNDL and SPC Brasil, 72% of consumers will pay for their purchase in cash, and 34% with debit cards; however, 56% will use credit cards for their purchases, with 36% paying in multiple installments.
Brazilians who will split their payments with credit cards will do so with an average of five installments. While this practice might compromise their budget for the following months, it is a strategy that 44% of customers will use to buy all the Christmas gifts on their list.
In addition, one-third said they will pay in installments in order to buy presents of higher quality, and the same percentage said they choose this payment method out of habit, even if they do have conditions to pay for the full price. This way, they guarantee their budget won’t be compromised in the current month.
Holiday season revenue
The research shows that nearly 120 million consumers will go shopping this season. The total revenue is forecast to be BRL 60 billion.
However, even with these extraordinary numbers, not all intend to increase their holiday shopping this year: 22% of Brazilians said they will reduce their spending this year because they want to save more money (38%), have a tight budget (31%), or have other priorities (15%).
Black Friday and the impact on Christmas sales
This year’s edition of Black Friday has been a true hit: according to Ebit|Nielsen, by Saturday, December 1st, ecommerce revenue reached BRL 3.2 billion, a 23.6% growth when compared to 2018. According to the Sociedade Brasileira de Varejo e Consumo (SBVC), 40% of consumers planned to leverage from the Black Friday discounts to purchase this year’s Christmas presents.
However, even though consumers did anticipate their holiday shopping on Black Friday, CNDL and SPC Brasil show that 54% of merchants and business owners do not feel that November’s last Friday interferes with Christmas – in fact, 33% of interviewees said the event actually increases sales during the holidays.
This is due to the fact that, during Black Friday, consumers often take advantage of the high discounts to purchase household appliances and electronics for themselves. On the other hand, during Christmas, consumers look for products to give friends and family.
Is your ecommerce ready for the holiday season?
One might think that, after all the preparation for Black Friday, ecommerce stores are all set for the Christmas season. However, it is important to highlight that businesses should be extra careful at this time of year, since the holidays may slow down delivery processes.
Here are a few tips so you can avoid hurdles with your customers:
#1 Beware of logistics
Because of the holiday, postal services and shipping companies reduce their operations between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day, which may impact on the delivery due date. In addition, the spread between cities and poor road infrastructure may become an even bigger challenge this time of year due to the high traffic volume on highways.
Therefore, it is crucial ecommerce businesses state the estimated due date for the parcels’ delivery, keeping in mind possible delays. This way, customers will be aware of whether or not their purchase will arrive in time for Christmas.
#2 Inform your client about the boleto bancário due date
Another aspect that may help delay a parcel’s delivery is paying with the boleto bancário. Because the payment due date is set to expire within 2-3 days and payment confirmation takes an additional 1-4 business days, the parcel may be released nearly a week after the order was placed. Be sure to inform your client that the delivery process begins only once the payment is confirmed.
PagBrasil offers Boleto Flash®, an exclusive solution that allows payment confirmation in less than one hour. It is also possible to set the expiration date for the same day, so parcels are released the same day as the order is placed.
In addition to Boleto Flash®, PagBrasil also offers PEC Flash®, which enables Brazilian customers to pay in cash for their online purchase at any of the 13,000 lottery agencies in the country.
#3 Enhance the checkout experience
Reducing the checkout steps in your ecommerce store is something your business should be aware of all year – however, during the Christmas season, this is extra important. Minimizing payment friction helps boost conversion rates and build a positive shopping experience, meaning your customer will be likely to return in the future. This includes features such as direct checkout, responsive layout for mobile devices, one-click purchase, and so on.
In addition, offering a broad set of payment methods is crucial for ecommerce businesses selling to Brazil. This will include not only the traditional boleto bancário, but also domestic credit and debit cards from multiple labels, and online transfer.
The final weeks of the year are important dates for Brazilian ecommerce. According to Ebit||Nielsen, the segment registered BRL 9.9 billion in revenue between November 15th and December 24th, with Black Friday corresponding to 26% of revenue share during the season. This means not only that ecommerce businesses should level-up their sales and marketing strategies in order to leverage from this scenario, but they should also be prepared for high demand.
