The FINANCIAL — With a late Thanksgiving and the shortest holiday shopping season in years, consumers say they’re starting their holiday shopping sooner and spending more this year, according to the latest American Express Spending & Saving Tracker.
While it’s still not clear how the holiday season will actually play out, consumers say they will expect to spend $1,260 this year, up $400 from last year. Aiming to find the best deals, more than a quarter of Americans say they’ve already started holiday shopping and will finish before December 1st (27% vs. 24% in 2012), while others expect to finish a week before Christmas, according to American Express Company.
“We’re seeing an increased intent to spend among consumers as we head into the critical holiday shopping season, suggesting strong enthusiasm for hitting the aisles this year,” said David Rabkin, SVP of U.S. Consumer Lending Products, American Express. “This is good news for retailers who might be concerned that the shorter shopping season will impact their sales,” he added.
For the first time, Cyber Monday is beating out Black Friday as the most popular shopping day, as more consumers (55% vs. 39% in 2012) say they’ll shop the virtual blowout sales instead of fighting the crowds the day after Thanksgiving (52% vs. 45% in 2012).
Although more will shop online, consumers still seek the thrill of the Door Buster Deal, with 58% of Black Friday shoppers saying they’ll hit the stores between 12am and 7am that day, similar to last year. On average, Black Friday shoppers say they’ll splurge 53% more this year, planning to spend $611 on average (up significantly from $398 in 2012). Overall, shoppers will dig deeper into their wallets, as those who plan to spend more than $1,000 on Black Friday has more than doubled since last year (24%). Just under a third (30%) plan to spend between $500 and $999, according to American Express Company.
While Santa saves on gas with reindeer, Americans are finding other ways to pinch pennies. Couponing continues to be a go-to strategy, with almost half (47%) of consumers planning to use coupons or promotions for holiday shopping. Whether clipping or clicking, most consumers (82%) say they’ll opt for a hybrid approach to saving, shopping both in-store and online. Top shopping destinations this year include:
Superstores (66% vs. 68% in 2012)
Department Stores (62%, up significantly from 48% in 2012)
Large Electronic Stores (45%, up significantly from 36% in 2012)
Small Businesses (38%, up from 31% in 2012)
Mainstream retail stores (36%, up from 24% in 2012)
For many, saving goes social this year as 66% plan to take advantage of offers via social media sites, up from 60% last year. When it comes to discounts, consumers “like” Facebook as the most popular social resource (49% vs. 46% in 2012), followed by Groupon (43%, up significantly from 27% last year), Pinterest (20%, up from 10%) and Twitter (20%, up from 15%).
Not only will consumers maximize their budgets this year, but more of them say they will multitask by using mobile devices to shop (51%, up from 32% last year), browse for gift ideas (25%, up from 18%) and compare prices with barcode scanning apps (20%, up from 12%), according to the report.
No matter where they shop, consumers plan to spend more across all gift categories, including:
On average, consumers say the most expensive gift this year will cost them $538, up from $397 last year. Similar to 2012, many intend to spend the most on their kids (42%) and their spouse or significant other (22%), splurging an average of $415 and $683 respectively. Shoppers won’t overlook man’s best friends, as 67% of pet owners plan to spend an average of $178 on their pal.
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