Changing Holiday Shopping Trends Worthy of Note
The holiday shopping season is taking hold in the United States with several noteworthy figures already being floated about that involve shopping trends and sales figures that make for interesting reading for those involved in the retail industry or looking to invest in it.
Online Shopping
In this day and age, it should come as no surprise that more and more people are shopping online and a holiday shopper study by Global consultancy Simon-Kucher found that yet more people are considering doing their shopping online as a predicted surge of around 15% is on the cards.
This seemed to be confirmed by Accenture’s Holiday Shopping survey that tallied 51% of consumers who were polled are planning on spending half or over half of their holiday budget online but the reason for this appears not to be the traditional answer given of lower prices but rather ease. Susan Lee, the partner who runs Simon-Kucher’s consumer goods and retail practice in North America, suggested that consumer habits may be down to the increase when she said the more consumers are accustomed to shopping online, “the less important price is as a decision driver.”
High Street Shopping
Despite expected increases in online shopping, this by no means is a signal that the high street is dead however larger chains may well be taking the hit rather than smaller retailers. Deloitte’s Annual Holiday survey revealed that a whopping 68% of consumers are planning to shop locally this year with the driving factors behind this being the support of the local economy as consumers are now more aware than ever of the impacts of their shopping habits. The second reason behind this focus on smaller, more localised gifts is that the increasingly high pressure search for the perfect gift has turned shoppers towards one-of-a-kind-gifts.
Both in online and high street shopping there have been shifts in shopping habits as there has been a growth in consuming with a conscience whilst the internet has given rise to infinite shopping possibilities. The consumer who opts for cheaper shopping with limited options available to them as choice has become king in the search for the perfect gift.
It would seem that consumer electronics are also high on many people’s Christmas lists as the launch of the Apple iPhone 6 and the rise in wearable technology is pushing consumers towards electronic goods in a big way with them being expected to be the most popular gift this year. Accenture’s holiday survey reckons that around 52% of consumers will be planning on purchasing from the consumer electronics category which a phenomenal rise from the meagre 27% posted last year.
Broken down, that’s 13% of respondents planning on buying wearable tech like smart watches or fitness bands, 24% looking at home electronics such as televisions and Blu-Ray players, 14% with their eyes on phones, in no short part helped by the launch of new high end smart phones like the iPhone 6 and Galaxy Note, and a final 13% wanting to get their hands on tablets.
These trends are worth following for many as the holiday shopping period can account for up to 25% of a retailers income over the year and many will be looking to tap into the domestic market of the world’s largest economy during its biggest shopping period.
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