Despite overly congested ports, retail analysts expect holiday sales in 2021 to reach an all-time high.

The National Retail Federation said it expects holiday sales during November and December to rise between 8.5% and 10.5%, for a total of between $843.4 billion and $859 billion of sales.

 Holiday retail sales have increased by 4.4% on average over the past five years, with last year’s holiday sales increasing 8.2% from 2019 to $777.3 billion.

This prediction comes from the fact that a majority of consumers have found ways to comfortably navigate their shopping during the pandemic, while last year, shoppers were still wary about going out into public spaces.

1 in 6 shoppers have already started their holiday shopping, and 57% plan to spend as much or more than last year.  For the shoppers who still aren’t fully comfortable going into stores, e-commerce is expected to rise between 11% and 15% with many shoppers still utilizing curbside pickup and home deliveries.

As we all know, no two shoppers are the same. There are endless shopping personalities and habits that consumers have. Some people wait last minute to buy holiday gifts, while others are constantly buying gifts throughout the year as they find deals.

Before we discuss the best ways to sell to different shopping personas, first we need to understand the different types of personas. First, we have the evergreen shopper. Similar to evergreen trees, evergreen shoppers are around all year finding and stockpiling gifts for when the time to gift arises. When trying to cater an experience for evergreen shoppers, constant nurturing throughout the year is the way to go.

Next, we have the supersaver or deal hunter.  These shoppers are most likely to buy between Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Although, with deals being offered earlier and earlier over the past few years, we have seen a slight decline in super-saver shoppers.  

Lastly, we have the early bird and last-minute shoppers. As the name implies, these shoppers either jump the gun and shop before sales even start or last-minute who shop when the year-end deals come out swinging. Last year, 70% of shoppers went in-store the week before Christmas Eve to get their last-minute gifts. Conversely, many shoppers remember the nightmare of inventory issues and gifts arriving well after Christmas, which has turned many last-minute shoppers into early birds in hopes of not being the “sorry, your gift is on the way” person.

With the combination of the pandemic causing social distancing, supply issues, and a variety of different shopping personas, the one-day sale is becoming a thing of the past with sales spreading across the year yielding more sales for retailers.

As the summer heat waves come to an end, the average daily traffic per store decreased 21% year-over-year from 27.6 in 2020 to 21.7 in Q3 of 2021. In comparison to Q2 2021, foot traffic is down 7%.

Salespeople made the most out of the lack of foot traffic and converted 38% of their opportunities into sales.  Q3 2021 average conversion rate was up 10% year-over-year, with September having the highest conversion rate year-to-date.

The average ticket in Q3 is where we see a major improvement from 2020. Q3 average revenue per transaction was $2,383, up 22% from 2020 which had an average ticket of $1,951. In comparison to Q2 2021, the average ticket has increased by 8%.

Despite a significant drop in foot traffic, average daily revenue for Q3 increased 3.5% for an average of $18,992 in Q3 2021. Although there was only a $100 difference between July 2020 and 2021, August and September is where sales started to see an uptick. 

As we all know, it takes time to build a relationship with a potential customer. The average time spent with customers was 44 minutes in 2021, up 5% from Q3 2020.  

Download the full report to see an in-depth look at Q3 2021.

September was a month for the books in the furniture industry.

Despite a drop in foot traffic compared to the same time last year and last month, the furniture industry reached yearly highs for multiple metrics including sales conversion, average ticket, and daily revenue.

Foot traffic was down 25% year over year, yet salespeople took on the challenge and increased their conversion by 17%. A conversion rate of 39% is a 5% increase over the previous yearly high of 37.4% in July 2021.

Not only were salespeople converting sales at a higher rate, but they also found a way to sell more with each sale. The average ticket saw a 23% increase over September 2021, and a 5% increase over the previous month, which was the highest average ticket month thus far this year.

Up until September, May 2021 was the month to beat when it came to daily revenue with an average daily revenue of $19,728.41. With the help of salespeople making the most out of less foot traffic, September 2021 had an average daily revenue of $20,239.34 for the furniture industry.

Overall, September was a high-performing month where salespeople showed how more foot traffic isn’t always the answer to make more sales.

Despite a drop in foot traffic, the furniture industry showed major strides compared to the same time last year. 

The customers who did shop in-store came with their checkbooks ready, making the average ticket the star of the show in August. With an increase of 21% compared to the same time last year, August now holds the record for highest average ticket thus far this year in the furniture industry. 

Last month, July 2021, had the highest conversion rate in 2021. August showed a similar trend with an average sales conversion of 37%, less than 1% off the yearly high. 

As we all know, fewer customers coming into the stores puts more importance on each customer that does walk into the store.  Salespeople in the furniture industry took this to heart and spent an average of 4 extra minutes with each customer in August 2021 compared to the same time last year. In contrast, July had 10% less foot traffic, and salespeople spent an average of 8 minutes more per customer.

Overall, the combination of more time with customers and a higher conversion rate resulted in average daily revenue of $19,387, only $400 off the yearly high in May.