Global holiday online sales hit a record $1.2 trillion, and returns soared

It is learned that on January 6, according to foreign media reports, in 2024, online holiday sales in the United States and the world soared to a record high, but the return rate also rose sharply.

According to Salesforce, global online sales in the 2024 holiday season (November 1 to December 31) reached a record high of $1.2 trillion, up 3% year-on-year, exceeding the $1.17 trillion in 2023. The US market performed particularly strongly, with online sales reaching $282 billion, up 4% year-on-year. This result exceeded Salesforce's previous growth forecast, which was for global online sales to increase to $1.19 trillion and the United States to reach $277 billion.

Despite the impressive sales data, Salesforce warned that high online return rates could undermine retailers' overall profitability during the 2024 holiday season. Currently, the amount of online returns during the global holiday season has exceeded $122 billion, a year-on-year surge of 28%, and Salesforce expects this figure to grow to $133 billion in the future. Changes in consumer shopping habits, such as buying multiple sizes of goods so that they can be returned after selection, are considered the main reason for the increase in return rates.

Online shopping returns for the global holiday season have exceeded $122 billion, a significant increase of 28% from the holiday season in 2023. Salesforce expects the value of online returns to grow to $133 billion during the global holiday season, in part due to consumer behavior trends such as purchasing an item one size larger and one size smaller than the standard size and then intending to return both items.

Salesforce also studied some other key online shopping trends. The data shows that the introduction of artificial intelligence and digital agents has significantly affected shopping behavior. Global online sales of $229 billion were driven by AI-driven product recommendations, customized offers, and conversational customer service. 19% of holiday spending was directly influenced by AI interactions, a 6% increase year-on-year.

At the same time, the e-commerce effect of social media has become more obvious, with 20% of global holiday sales coming from social platforms such as TikTokShop and Instagram. The proportion of social media referral traffic increased by 8% compared with last year, bringing 14% of seasonal traffic to e-commerce websites.

Price discounts remain an important strategy to attract consumers. The global average discount rate for the 2024 holiday season was 22%, up 2% year-on-year, and the average discount rate in the United States was 23%, up 1% year-on-year. Among vertical industries, cosmetics became the highest-discounted category globally with a discount rate of 36%, followed by general clothing (30%) and skin care products (28%). In the US market, general clothing, health and beauty, and household products ranked in the top three with discount rates of 33%, 29%, and 18%, respectively.

Author ✎ Rayna/

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