U.S. daily necessities consumption increases, overall online sales growth slows

According to Reuters, a survey released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed that U.S. consumers expect their monthly spending this year to exceed pre-pandemic levels, but people are increasingly less likely to spend big on holidays and other non-essential items.

The survey results predict that consumers will increase their daily living expenses in the coming year, with more spending on daily necessities. But they will spend less on home repairs, vacations, appliances and other items that require large capital expenditures. "In contrast, the survey found that households are less likely to make large purchases in the next four months, suggesting that inflation expectations may contribute," the researchers said.

Respondents said in December they expected monthly household spending to rise 4.6% next year, up from 4.2% in August. Spending on daily necessities is expected to rise sharply in 2021, by about 5.4%.

Amid continued inflation and the highly contagious Omicron variant, U.S. consumer prices are rising at the fastest rate in 40 years, which has also hit U.S. consumer confidence in January.

In addition, according to a forecast released by Internet data analysis company DigitalCommerce360, the growth rate of the US e-commerce market will slow down in 2022, with a year-on-year increase of about 14%. In 2021, US online sales increased by 16.2% year-on-year, which was also a slowdown compared with 31.8% in 2020.

The report mentioned that in 2022, the changes that US online retailers will make to win the competition are to develop and invest in new business models, such as launching their own market platforms, selling second-hand goods, or testing old-for-new programs, etc. In addition, many young people have begun to pay attention to sustainable products and have developed an aversion to fast fashion. Developing new business models is also one of the ways for retailers to cater to consumer changes and needs.

Although the growth rate of online sales has slowed down, consumers have become accustomed to online shopping. Especially when buying gifts for relatives and friends during some holidays, online shopping is also one of their preferred methods. So for online marketing skills in 2022, experts have given the following suggestions:

Promote promotions early

Consumers are prone to aesthetic fatigue when faced with overwhelming publicity in a short period of time. Therefore, conducting marketing activities as early as possible before the holiday can reduce competitiveness and attract customers' attention more easily.

Make more use of social media promotion

Promoting a promotion early can build customer anticipation. Promoting it through social media, email, etc. can expand the consumer base.

Optimize search engine functionality

For cross-border e-commerce sellers, search engine SEO is an important driving force to increase sales during the holidays. A successful SEO strategy can allow sellers to grab more traffic.

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