Salesforce released holiday season data for November 1 through December 31, 2024, based on analysis of 1.5 billion purchases and 1.6 trillion page views.
The company's statement on the matter said that online sales had reached new highs and that global retail sales during the holiday season rose 3 percent to $1.2 trillion.
The statement said that sales in the USA increased by 4 percent to $282 billion during this period, while in the European Union there was an increase of 1 percent.
The statement emphasized that the better-than-expected holiday shopping season was due to increased consumer spending as well as a surge in mobile and social media commerce.
$122 billion worth of products were returned
However, the statement said that shoppers have already returned $122 billion worth of products and that both consumers and retailers are turning to the use of artificial intelligence to improve the holiday shopping experience through product recommendations and personalized order assistance.
The statement said that these accounted for 19 percent of all online orders and that shopping powered by artificial intelligence increased by 6 percent compared to the 2023 holiday season.
Salesforce Consumer Analytics Director Caila Schwartz, whose analysis was included in the statement, said: “Retailers had a strong holiday season, but the 28 percent year-over-year increase in returns rate is a cause for concern,” he explained.
Schwartz noted that retailers that have adopted artificial intelligence have already begun to see its benefits, emphasizing that artificial intelligence tools will be more important this year as retailers aim to minimize lost sales due to returns and re-engage customers.
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