All over California (and much of the Pacific Northwest) fires are ranging as a result of some of the hottest temperatures ever recorded in the region. 

Notably, over Labor Day Weekend, Woodland Hills, CA reached 121º Fahrenheit (49.4º Celcius), the highest ever recorded temperature within Los Angeles County. And over the same period of time 25 new large wildfires had sprung up, destroying thousands of acres of land.

Extreme weather events are inextricably linked to anthropogenic (man-made) climate change. California’s fires are not an exception as thousands are forced to evacuate from their homes and many face losing most of what they own.

While brave firefighters man the frontlines and battle this calamity, everyone has the opportunity to support them and the people that have been displaced. Consider donating to the SAVE program, which aims to help victims of wildfires and other natural disasters

Consumer Trends

Spending: Overview

• March to June 2020 Outperformed Online Spending Projections by $77B. This trend is expected to be a strong correlation for the holiday season.

Influence of Reviews

• Throughout the pandemic, reviews have become more important as shoppers look to sources like on-site TrustBoxes and 3rd party reviews to validate their purchase intent.

• With the absence of physical interaction with the product, secondhand accounts become invaluable.

User Experience: Login

• Most website users prefer to use Google and Facebook to log into online portals using social media.

• However, some 60% of businesses prefer standard logins like email or username.

Holiday & Seasonal Shopping 

• Buy Online, Pickup In-Store (BOPIS) has lifted online spending throughout the pandemic and that trend shows no signs of changing through the holidays as many shoppers plan to take advantage of this option. 

• Local retailers will get a boost this holiday season as the pandemic has driven shoppers to shop more locally.

• Retailers that communicate safety, stock, and prices clearly and effectively have an opportunity to edge out the competition this holiday season.

Back-to-School Shopping

• 8% of parents plan to do their back-to-school shopping online this year, especially as many classrooms have shifted to a digital or hybrid framework.

Business Trends

Retail Growth

• Large retail corporations with assets over $50 million saw Q2 growth in revenue of $23 billion over Q1 of 2020.

Category: Apparel

• The apparel category saw strong growth through July YoY as sales heated up in May, but begin to taper off through July. 

• Projection: However, the back-to-school and Labor Day Weekend sales may influence shoppers to continue buying at greater rates.

Category: Alcohol

• Online alcohol sales have skyrocketed with online transactions being the heavy favorite among consumers.

• However, the alcohol industry has still felt the impact of the pandemic as on-premise alcohol sales have slumped with widespread closures and occupancy restrictions.