The essential festive assortment to win the holiday season

Our analyst team trawled the US and UK markets to bring you the top festive products retailers are stocking online plus key holiday promotions so far. Call it a sanity checker for your Christmas buys.

The discounting season is well underway with events such as Black Friday and Singles Day kickstarting customers’ Christmas shopping. And with less than a month until the big day, we used EDITED’s retail data platform to analyze the hottest festive product trends across apparel, beauty and gifting.

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EDITED’s assortment charts reveals the key products retailers are backing in their festive ranges. Across childrenswear, items are more evenly distributed among categories. While tops, accessories and hosiery are dominating men’s and womenswear.

Womenswear

What are the notable themes in womenswear assortments? Festive slogans and animals wearing holiday decorations are the most prevalent for tops assortments across retailers, seeing noticeable growth YoY. Pajamas are also popular arrivals with matching sets for the whole family heavily represented in retailers’ communications. For festive prints, the winter fair isle pattern is prominent across tops and dresses. Playful designs and Christmas-inspired motifs are favored for products at an entry-level price point, such as accessories, socks and underwear. 

For the full review on womenswear holiday trends for 2019, log in to EDITED to read our report. 

Menswear

In total, men’s festive apparel and accessories investments are up 17% YoY. For menswear trends, retailers blended traditional Christmas motifs with popular films. Festive graphics featuring Harry Potter, Star Wars and Black Panther are popular across sweaters, socks, pajamas and tees. Macy’s and Target pushed products celebrating Hanukkah, which also bubbled up as a key theme in childrenswear. However, these items are sparse and flag an opportunity for retailers to invest in 2020.

Want to see how menswear retailers phased their Christmas buys? Log in to find out which of your competitors was first to market.

Childrenswear

Across both genders in the US, tops are the most invested category. Followed by a clear split between accessories and nightwear for girls and boys, respectively. Less traditional Christmas motifs such as dinosaurs and llamas emerged at The Children’s Place and Target. In line with the recent release of Frozen 2, retailers are showing considerable investment in apparel, accessories and footwear featuring the Disney license. 

For the full round-up of yuletide childrenswear trends across the US and UK market, log in to read our recent report, Childrenswear: What Are Retailers Stocking for the Festive Period?

Beauty

Beauty gifting continues to grow in demand every year, with retailers fighting for exclusive product launches to draw in beauty junkies looking to score the best deal on limited-edition sets. Holiday collections are some of the most coveted beauty products of the year, creating anticipated hype from consumers. Many brands offer a mix of new and existing products in mini sizes, allowing customers to buy-in at a lower cost and trial best-selling products. 

Beauty advent calendars are always in hot demand and provide an opportunity for retailers to create their own offers. This year, the popular Liberty advent calendar increased in price yet again, from £195 in 2018 to £215 for 2019, cashing in on the hype.

Are you planning to expand into beauty? Check out how holiday beauty collections are represented on ecommerce sites during the festive season in our Gift of Beauty analysis report.

Gifting

Holiday gifting has become a bigger business with fashion retailers continuously evolving festive assortments beyond apparel. Non-apparel items stocked in anticipation of the holidays grew YoY, particularly in the UK market. River Island currently has 4% more non-apparel styles compared to last year, while Next’s range is up 85%.

Options at mass market retailers make festive gifting more accessible for younger consumers who will be shopping for purse-friendly, Instagrammable items for their family and friends. Trends strike a balance between traditional and non-traditional with retailers stocking Christmas gifts with a cheeky twist. Emoji symbols are favored at ASOS, which incorporated the peach and aubergine emojis into festive gift wrapping, while Liberty London is stocking a range of emoji baubles. Novelty ornaments continue to resonate with a millennial audience with trimmings across mass market retailers featuring motifs such as unicorns, mermaids, avocados and soy milk cartons. 

Green gifting is expected to become commonplace in 2019. eBay noted search volumes for reusable straws and coffee cups over the holiday period have soared between 2017 and 2018 – up 375% and 257%. Selfridges honed in on this by curating a ‘sustainable gift’ edit online, which includes eco-friendly brands such as Veja and Stella McCartney, and products like keep-cups and reusable water bottles.

Despite the popularity of novelty gifting, mass market retailers are moving into slightly higher pricing intervals. Find the sweet spot for stocking fillers in EDITED’s Gifting & Promotions report.

Holiday promotions

Retailers are teasing the holiday with a countdown, tying in nicely with advent calendar promotions. ‘Gift by gender’ is still a favored theme of promotion. However, it is starting to give way for a more inclusive ‘gift by recipient.’ Anthropologie in the US executed this trend seamlessly with its ‘This Merry Concierge’ email campaign, curating gifts ‘for your boss,’ ‘for your friend,’ ‘for your secret Santa,’ etc.

Promotions on gifting through October emerged as a strong driver for early sales. Key offers include ‘spend and save’ promotions and blanket reductions. The White Company and Debenhams were among the retailers promoting gift boxes and wrapping. While it entices customers into making quick add-on purchases, keep in mind the additional waste accumulated during the holidays and look for recyclable alternatives to offer instead.

From Analysts at EDITED, we wish you a very happy holiday trade. Don’t forget to subscribe to our Insider Briefing and listen to our 12 Days of Christmas podcast special!

Contributions by Avery, Krista, Katherine and heather.