Consumer Attitudes & Behavior

By Ali Lipson, senior retail and apparel analyst, Mintel

The Sembler Company completed two major redevelopments during 2013. The company redeveloped the Nokomis Village Shopping Center in Nokomis, Fla., and Park 66 in Pinellas Park, Fla.

Anchored by a redeveloped Publix, which re-opened in mid-November, and Anthony’s Ladies Apparel, improvements to the 143,697-sq.-ft. Nokomis Village include building façade upgrades and landscaping. Inline tenants include Saltwater Café, New China Restaurant, Hot Nails, Ophelia’s Pasta and Subway.

Chicago -- Almost half of Americans (46%) report they will spend less on the holidays than last year, with those living in the South more likely than any other region to say they plan to spend less this year at 55%.

An online survey conducted in October 2013 among 2,014 Americans ages 18 and older by Harris Interactive on behalf of online lender CashNetUSA also shows that only 8% of Americans indicate they plan to spend more on the holidays this year than last year and 37% indicated they would spend the same as last year.  

Los Angeles -- Mobile shopping continues to rise, with almost one-quarter (23%) of consumers planing to shop using a mobile device this year, up 44% from 2012, according to PriceGrabber’s second Winter Holiday Survey. In addition, when respondents were asked to select all the ways they plan to shop for gifts, 88% said online from a desktop computer and 47% said they plan to visit brick and mortar stores, with 46% who plan to make fewer trips to retail stores this year.

New York - Forty-one percent of respondents are expecting to make purchases in-store this holiday season more often than they did last year, which should make for a busy Black Friday, according to MasterCard’s 2013 Holiday Spending Survey.

The survey also found that more than half of Americans who use their debit or credit card for holiday purchases and have a rewards program plan to cash in their points this season. Of this group, 40% will strategically spend on one card only to rack up rewards points.

In other findings:

Yonkers, N.Y. -- Two-thirds of shoppers will spend the same amount of money (54%) or more money (12%) than they did last year. A new Consumer Reports poll also reveals that 33% will spend less money, similar to the 37% who said the same when asked last year.

Worthington, Ohio — Target, Kohl’s, Costco, Macy’s and Old Navy, with an honorable mention to J.C. Penney, are the holiday 2013 retail winners, according to business intelligence provider Prosper Insights & Analytics.  The firm on Tuesday released its  Holiday 2013 Retail Winners & Losers list at the Morgan Stanley Global Consumer and Retail Conference.

Bloomington, Ill. -- Six in 10 (61%) holiday shoppers this year plan to use cash, check or debit card to pay for most of their holiday purchases. Just 29% say they will use credit, according to the latest Country Financial Security Index.