Preparations for the back-to-school and holiday seasons have begun in advance! What will be different this year?

Sellers will get early trends about this year’s holiday shopping season in the coming weeks, as Amazon hosts Prime Day on July 12-13 and rival retailers including Target hold competing sales. That’s followed by the busy back-to-school shopping season, another indicator of how the holiday season will go.

Consumers will be more price-conscious and start resisting price increases earlier than usual, according to a new report from Salesforce. The trends retailers spot starting next month could indicate how much people are willing to spend during the holiday season, and the types of products they want.

Sales forecasts for this year's holiday season are complicated by soaring prices for gas, groceries and other household needs, which are undermining what people might spend on gifts. To predict how these factors will affect shopping behavior, Salesforce made predictions for the upcoming holiday season based on its two reports.

Salesforce's quarterly Shopping Index analyzes the online activity of more than 1 million people in dozens of countries, focusing on 12 major markets including the U.S. Here are three predictions from Salesforce:

Christmas shopping may be brought forward to July

In the past two years, people have started Christmas shopping before Black Friday due to concerns about shipping delays and depleted shelves. This year, 42% of shoppers worldwide and 37% in the U.S. said they plan to start buying gifts earlier, the biggest inflation-related behavioral change Salesforce noticed in its research.

For some, this may mean Christmas shopping will start in July as people rush to buy during Amazon Prime Day and competing sales.

Price trumps all

After two years of lockdown and spending sprees, consumers will pay more attention to price, which is expected to trump loyalty and convenience this holiday season, Salesforce said.

According to Salesforce, half of shoppers are expected to switch brands to save money. This means that 2.5 billion shoppers around the world may decide to give up one product in favor of one that better fits their budget.

To avoid competing solely on price, retailers should create buzz by offering exclusive or limited-edition items, or emphasize features such as a product’s sustainability.

Otherwise, if retailers discount too early and too often, their profits, already squeezed by rising costs for fuel, labor and other items, could take a big hit.

NFTs are hot

Non-fungible tokens, or unique digital assets stored using blockchain technology, will be on more people’s shopping lists this year, according to Salesforce. 46% of consumers told Salesforce that they would consider gifting a virtual version of a physical item or a digital collectible.

According to Salesforce, it expects about 500,000 NFTs to be purchased from retailers between November and December, with a total market value of $54 million.Although NFTs have become increasingly popular in recent years, some experts still doubt whether they are a good investment.

Editor✎ Ashley/

Disclaimer: This article is copyrighted and may not be reproduced without permission.