Here’s how consumers will reduce their holiday spending
A new survey reveals the areas holiday shoppers plan to cut back this year.
A spokesperson for global marketing solutions provider Snipp emailed Chain Store Age the results of a survey of roughly 300 U.S. consumers asking them about their holiday shopping plans. Almost all (97%) respondents said the cost of living influences their holiday shopping plans in some form while two-in-three (65%) said it "extremely" or "significantly" influences their plans.
Unsurprisingly given these results, 81% of respondents plan to cut back on their holiday shopping this year compared to last year and close to four-in-10 (38%) said they plan to cut back "extremely."
Generationally, boomer respondents (69%) are less likely to cut back than respondents who are in the Gen Z (85%), Gen X (83%) or millennial demographics (81%).
Product categories respondents are most likely to cut spending on year-over-year include electronics (53%), health & beauty (45%), toys (44%), groceries (36%) and home goods (35%).
Four-in-10 or more respondents also have specific plans for reducing the cost of their holiday meals:
- 45% plan to substitute ingredients with more affordable options.
- 43% plan to prepare more meals at home instead of eating out.
- 42% plan to shop at discount or budget grocery stores.
- 39% plan to use more coupons in grocery stores.
Snipp’s findings that most consumers will reduce their holiday spending year-over-year contradicts many other forecasts for improvement, such as the recent prediction for steady growth from the NRF.
Promotions and discounts will be important
Respondents indicated promotions and discounts will figure prominently in their holiday shopping behavior:
- Half of respondents said discounts and promotions are the top influencer for their purchasing decisions.
- 61% of respondents use coupons with some regularity when shopping, 33% always use them and 28% frequently use them. This includes 67% of Gen X and Gen Z respondents saying they aways or frequently use coupons when shopping, compared to millennials (60%), and boomers (43%).
- Three-quarters (76%) of respondents search online for promotions, offers, loyalty programs, and/or coupons, followed by in-store (52%), social media (48%), email (29%) and influencers (25%).
- Nearly half of respondents prefer to get promotions via email from their favorite brands; 44% ranked this option number one compared to texts (21%), in-app notifications (14%) and social media (12%).
- Promotions, coupons, or rebates are most likely to be used on groceries - 56% of respondents ranked this category number one, compared to those who gave top ranking to packaged food (16%), apparel (8%) and electronics (7%).
- Retailers are by a wide margin the most trusted source for receiving discounts (50%), followed by brands (22%) and banks (20%).
[READ MORE: Survey: Two-thirds of consumers tracking holiday prices for best deals]
Online vs. in-store shopping
The survey also asked respondents about how they compare online and in-store holiday shopping.:
- More respondents plan to shop online (68%) than in-store (62%); with 14% planning to use curbside or in-store pickup. Interestingly, Gen Z respondents are most likely to shop in-store (75%), while boomers are least likely to shop in-store (51%). Millennials are most likely to shop online (76%).
- Respondents are most likely to shop at Amazon (53% ranked #1), Wal-Mart (24% ranked #1), and Target (11% ranked #1) for their holiday purchases.
