Election Anxiety Cost Online Retailers $800 Million

By Melissa Campanelli

Adobe Digital Insights has found that between Nov. 1 and Nov. 14, retailers lost out on over $800 million in revenue from online sales. The sharpest drop occurred after the presidential election on Nov. 8, with total sales growth slowing to only 1.3 percent (vs. the predicted growth of 7.8 percent). The change in spending habits marks the slowest growth rate for online sales that Adobe has seen in the U.S. since it started tracking retail spending. Also, for the first time, shopping visits to retail sites and apps have fallen below the rate of previous years, indicating a drop in consumer confidence.

Total Retail's Take: While shopper anxiety affecting retail sales so negatively is certainly bad news, retailers are hoping to make up for the downturn with the busy Thanksgiving weekend now days away. While most analysts are predicting a rosy picture for holiday retail sales, those five days will be a crucial test of shoppers’ moods and could be a good indication of spending for the rest of the holiday season.

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Melissa Campanelli Author's page Melissa Campanelli is Editor-in-Chief of Total Retail. She is an industry veteran, having covered all aspects of retail, tech, digital, e-commerce, and marketing over the past 20 years. Melissa is also the co-founder of the Women in Retail Leadership Circle.