What Shoppers Want During a Short Gift-Giving Season

Zain Akbari: As the holiday shopping season gets underway, we believe retailers will have to navigate a highly competitive environment, with American consumers generally in decent, though not spectacular, shape amid considerable uncertainty spurred by trade, politics, and demographic-specific factors.

As seen by retailers’ generally mixed third-quarter results, the competitive environment leaves little room for execution missteps, with price competition intense and customer expectations high. Digitization remains a key theme, and we believe customers will reward retailers that can provide convenience through environments that are efficient and convenient, including click-and-collect and ship-to-home.