Summary of the 2021 e-commerce peak season: high product prices, low discounts, and large out-of-stock quantities

Adobe Analytics surveyed more than 1 trillion visits to U.S. retail websites, 100 million SKUs, and 18 product categories in November and December, and found that U.S. online consumers encountered more than 6 billion online product out-of-stock messages during the 2021 holiday shopping period. Out-of-stock messages increased by 10% compared to the 2020 holiday season and increased by 256% compared to 2019.

In addition to this, supply chain issues, including periodic closures of manufacturing facilities, congested ports and cargo delays, also disrupted retail operations throughout 2021.

According to a survey of 1,033 online shoppers by Digital Commerce 360 ​​and Bizrate Insights, 30% of shoppers said they encountered more out-of-stock products this year compared to the 2020 holiday shopping period. Additionally, 25% of consumers said they paid more attention to online sellers with adequate inventory and timely shipments during the 2021 holiday shopping period compared to last year.

According to Adob According to data from e-commerce , even though out-of-stock situations were severe during the 2021 holiday shopping period, e-commerce sales for the entire year still increased by 8.6% year-on-year.

At the same time, according to Adob According to e , there is another trend this holiday shopping season: online sellers are offering lower discounts and higher prices for products.

In terms of promotions, online retailers are not discounting products as deeply during the 2021 holiday season compared to last year, according to Adobe data. The exceptions are apparel and toys.

As for whether product prices affect consumers' purchasing decisions, the survey shows that only 29% of consumers said they were not restricted by promotions this year. In fact, 18% of consumers said they paid full price for products, and 17% said they bought less than they planned due to the lack of promotions.

However, no matter how much online retailers discounted products during the holiday season, online prices rose 3.1% in December 2021 compared to December 2020, according to the Adobe Digital Price Index.

Adobe saw price increases in 13 of the 18 categories it tracks in December. Categories with the largest year-over-year price increases in December included apparel (up 16.6%), tools/home improvement (up 7.1% ), groceries (up 4.9%) and appliances (up 4.1%).

USA

2021

E-commerce peak season