The FINANCIAL — U.S. consumers intend to spend an average of $646 on gifts this holiday season, which would represent an 11 percent increase over the $582 they planned to spend, on average, in 2012, according to Accenture’s annual holiday shopping survey.
Additionally, the survey shows that the appeal of Black Friday shopping for consumers has reached a five-year high and Thanksgiving Day has emerged as an established holiday season event. Although they plan to spend more, consumers also will be on the lookout for sizeable discounts throughout the holiday season, according to Accenture, a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company.
One in five consumers (20 percent) plans to spend more on gifts this year, compared to 14 percent who planned to increase their holiday spending in 2012. They also are more likely to overspend their holiday budget this year (46 percent, compared to 34 percent in 2012). However, holiday shoppers will be keenly focused on discounts and sales: 94 percent said that discounts will be important to their purchasing decisions this holiday season, up from 84 percent in 2012, and 49 percent expect that three-quarters or more of their purchases will be for discounted or sale items, the Accenture Holiday Shopping Survey found.
The survey indicates that the lure of Black Friday as a major shopping event is at its highest level in five years: 55 percent of shoppers say they are likely to shop on this traditional shopping day, compared to 53 percent in 2012, and 44 percent in 2011. However, a larger proportion of shoppers (30 percent) said they will do most of their Black Friday shopping online, compared to 25 percent in 2012.
At the same time, the survey shows that the growing trend among retailers to open their stores on Thanksgiving Day means that this event is becoming ingrained as a holiday tradition. In fact, 38 percent of shoppers surveyed said they were likely to shop on Thanksgiving. Of those shoppers, 41 percent indicated that they will be out shopping between 6 PM Thanksgiving Day and 5 AM on Black Friday.
Nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of respondents said they had already started their holiday shopping or plan to do most of it by the end of November.
“The average dollar spend is trending up, and we are seeing a consumer mindset shifting from ‘cautious’ to ‘sensible,’ which is good news for retailers,” said Chris Donnelly, global managing director of Accenture’s Retail practice. “However, retailers are mindful that during the 2013 Thanksgiving-Christmas shopping period, they will have six days less in which to tempt shoppers through their doors, so many will go big and go early. Thanksgiving Day shopping is now a firm fixture in the holiday season. We will see more stores opening early on that day in order to capture their share of consumer spending. Although retailers’ main draw on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday will be ‘doorbuster’ deals, shoppers will be demanding discounts of 30 percent or more throughout the season,” he added.
According to the survey, fewer consumers expect economic concerns to impact their shopping plans (24 percent, compared to 28 percent in 2012), and only 18 percent indicated that they would spend less than last year, compared to 23 percent in 2012. Nearly two thirds – 62 percent – plan to spend the same as last year (63 percent in 2012).
Of the 20 percent of consumers planning to spend more than last year, one in five (21 percent) intend to raise their spending by $500 or more, and 55 percent said they will increase their spending by $100-$499. Contributing factors behind this spending increase include a willingness among consumers to treat themselves and their families after a tough year (41 percent), and increased discretionary income (37 percent).
Online, In-store and More – Consumers Want a Holiday Shopping Experience on their Terms
The survey results indicate that consumers expect to shop seamlessly across in-store, online and mobile channels this holiday season.
Although 42 percent of consumers surveyed plan to spend at least half of their holiday shopping dollars online, they also will be looking to take advantage of store-focused technology-enabled services, such as purchase online with in-store delivery or pick-up (36 percent), and the ability to see up-to-date information on product availability (21 percent), according to Accenture.
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