Consumers reveal what will impact Memorial Day shopping choices

A new survey sheds light on the drivers of Memorial Day purchase behavior.

About half (51%) of respondents do not plan on shopping for Memorial Day this year, according to a recent survey of over 1,000 U.S. adult consumers from Vibenomics, a Mood Media company, and Suzy. Of respondents who have or will shop for Memorial Day, 19% are waiting for the week/weekend of Memorial Day, while 12% are starting the second week in May, 9% started the first week in May and another 9% will begin the third week in May.

About three-quarters (74%) of respondents who are shopping for Memorial Day will search for sales. Popular methods to find Memorial Day sales include in-store discounts, coupons and special offers (80%); retailer membership programs (61%); rewards programs (50%), and bulk or discount coupons (34%).

Slightly more than half (53%) of respondents planning to shop say inflation will cause them to purchase slightly less (30%) or much less (23%) products for Memorial Day. Almost four in 10 (39%) said inflation will have no impact on their holiday purchases. Interestingly, inflation will cause 8% of respondents to purchase slightly (6%) or much more (2%) products.

When respondents planning to shop were asked whether having desired products out of stock or too expensive would be their biggest concern, 38% chose too expensive and 24% selected out of stock. Another 38% said they have no concerns regarding Memorial Day shopping.

The most popular items respondents plan to purchase for Memorial Day include:

• Groceries (72%)
• Clothing (57%)
• Electronics (33%)
• Furniture/home décor (28%)
• Appliances (27%)
• Mattresses (16%)

Popular Memorial Day shopping destinations include:

• Grocery store (83%)
• Online retailer (47%)
• Box store (39%)
• Home improvement store (34%)

The most important factors in selecting a product for holiday purchase include:

• Price (36%)
• Brand (26%)
• Sales/discount/coupon (13%)
• Variety (12%)

Top Memorial Day purchase influencers include:

• In-store promotion (70%)
• Coupon (57%)
• Recommendation (42%)
• Social media advertisement (37%)
• In-store display or advertisement (35%)

Consumer inflation fears drop

Fear about inflation among surveyed U.S. shoppers is at its lowest level since October 2022, though still high at 65% concerned, according to the recent “Inflation Special Report” from Kroger’s 84.51° data analytics subsidiary. Overall, 32% of respondents believe inflation at its current high level will end in 10 months or less and 28% think it will last one to two years.

When asked how they feel about their finances, roughly six in 10 (62%) respondents are neutral and about one in five (21%) feel uncomfortable.