Direct-to-consumer (D2C) retail is more important than ever before, according to the new Peak Holiday 2020 report from e-commerce experience specialist Bloomreach. The data reveals that direct site traffic makes up 80% of all desktop holiday commerce traffic in Europe and North America, with the remaining traffic made up of search engine traffic (15%) and advertising search traffic (5%). Social search accounts for less than 1% of all traffic, showing a clear consumer appetite for direct engagement with brands.

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Mobile spending in North America grew 45% year over year and accounted for a little over half (52%) of all purchases. It is also clear that holiday shopping started earlier this year, with seasonal search terms making an appearance as far back as September, while pandemic-induced concerns resulted in consumers shopping earlier and spreading out their shopping over a longer period of time compared to previous years.

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“There is a common fallacy in the industry that retailers need to use third-party marketplaces to succeed,” said Brian Walker, CSO of Bloomreach. “While these third-party marketplaces can help getting your products discovered, our data shows that consumers have become more knowledgeable about brands and aim to engage directly with them. With such a high percentage of consumers going straight to a retailer’s website, it is vital that brands invest in their direct e-commerce strategy. A great e-commerce experience has become table stakes for every brand.”

Walker continued: “For retailers, the real priority is in ensuring that they offer an experience that is inspiring and relevant with every visit to their website, whichever device the customer is on. The brands that will succeed this year are those that offer valuable, consistent experiences that combine all their channels with shipping and fulfillment options optimized for offline pickup.”

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