The Wall Street Journal business of fashion reporter, Ray A. Smith, used DynamicAction Retail Index data as the cornerstone of his holiday analysis for his article Plotting the Best Holiday Shopping Attack.

The shifts in retailing strategy during these high-stakes times and what the next few weeks will hold for both shoppers and retailers

• consumer shifts
• profit-protecting
• intelligent promo offerings 

Key excerpts:

"Shoppers got a taste of this earlier this month as more retailers promoted big discounts earlier than in the past. During the first week of November, the number of online purchases taking advantage of a markdown rose 16% over the same period in 2016, according to retail analytics firm DynamicAction, which analyzed $3.5 billion in online consumer transactions in North America. That compared with a 21% decrease during the first week of November 2016 compared with the first week of November 2015.

….Much of this year’s sales growth was driven by shopping online, where promotions were heavy. On Thanksgiving Day, for example, the number of online orders placed that took advantage of a markdown in North America rose 12% compared with Thanksgiving Day 2016, according to DynamicAction. And there was a 10% decrease in full-priced purchases this year.

Still, consumers can expect to see more and deeper discounts in coming weeks. 'Retailers are certainly saving their big deals until later,' said Sarah Engel, chief marketing officer at DynamicAction. 'Just because they launched some of their promotions earlier, it doesn’t mean consumers won’t get good deals.' They just may be more targeted and selective."

Read the full article here (subscription required).

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