Commentary

Holiday Heat: Consumers Plan To Return To Stores This Year

Consumers are ready to rush back into the stores for the holidays. But they plan to control their spending, judging by a new study by Clerk. 

Of those surveyed, 60% expect to have stricter holiday budgets this year, although 45% anticipate spending the same as last year, and 20% say they will budget more. 

Seemingly free of the pandemic, only 14% will do all their holiday shopping online. But that doesn’t account for the growing swath that will do some of their shopping online. 

All that said, email teams need to be ready: Whatever the channel, 26% will begin holiday gift shopping early- to mid-November, and 24% in early to mid-October.

How do shoppers plan to keep a lid on spending? They are looking at: 

  • Stricter budgeting — 59%
  • Cooking more meals at home — 48%
  • Considering less expensive/generic brands — 47%

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In addition, 75.2% will be cooking at home more often for family of friends, and 74% plan to take more grocery trips over the holidays. Even now, 96% of shoppers are visiting physical stores for groceries.

Consumers expect to spend more on these product areas this year:

  • Grocery products — 40%
  • Clothing & accessories — 37% 
  • Electronics — 32% 
  • Home goods — 30%
  • Games & toys — 28%

But they’ll spend less on:

  • Luxury items — 34% 
  • Electronics — 37%
  • Travel — 30%
  • Sports/fitness/outdoor products — 30%

Where are they shopping? At big box stores like Walmart and Target, and at grocery stores. 

Meanwhile, companies are approaching the season warily. A recent survey by Survey Monkey that 32% of IT staff expect revenue to decrease this year while 33% foresee an increase and 25% are uncertain.

Meanwhile, in the shorter term, 58% plan to buy more candy/snacks to dispense during Halloween, Clerk reports. And 78% percent plan to cook at home over Labor Day weekend. 

Clerk surveyed 1,000 U.S. consumers. 

 

 

 

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