Here's what Kroger holiday shoppers want
A new survey of Kroger customers reveals how they plan to shop for the holidays.
84.51°, Kroger’s data analytics subsidiary, recently asked Kroger households about their preparations and attitudes for the upcoming holiday season running October through December.
Almost all (96%) respondents plan to celebrate one or more holidays during that time period, led by Christmas (91%) and Thanksgiving (89%). Roughly two-thirds also plan to celebrate New Year’s Eve/Day (69%) and Halloween (65%).
When asked their top priorities they will look for holiday shopping, respondents strongly favored sales/deals/coupons (71%) and availability of items (70%). Fewer than half that many respondents cited finding a "one-stop shop" (34%), with smaller percentages seeking personalized shopping experiences (e.g., promos, rewards, support - 26%), online ordering for delivery or pickup (22%) and extended store hours (19%).
More than half of respondents (54%) expect to spend the same on holiday shopping this year as in 2023. More than one-third (37%) anticipate spending less, and 10% say they will spend more.
The survey also uncovered insights in a number of other areas related to holiday shopping:
Where shoppers will search for holiday deals
- Digital coupons: 75%
- Weekly ads/circulars (paper or digital): 65%
- Retailer’s website: 60%
- Retailer app: 52%
- Cashback apps/sites (e.g., Rakuten, Ibotta, etc.): 36%
- Personalized paper coupons: 34%
- By word of mouth: 27%
- Manufacturer’s website: 25%
Reasons shoppers will use technology for holiday planning
- For gift ideas: 21%
- For new recipes: 21%
- To make a grocery list: 20%
- Discover new holiday traditions: 10%
- To learn about holiday meaning/history: 9%
- Plan a holiday trip: 9%
Products holiday shoppers plan to still splurge on
- Gifts: 44%
- Food: 43%
- Clothing: 17%
- Holiday entertainment: 16%
- Decorations/décor: 14%
- None of the above: 25%
Top triggers to start holiday shopping
- Specific sales (Labor Day, Black Friday, etc.): 56%
- Seeing holiday decorations/décor in-store: 31%
- Family and friends starting their shopping: 30%
When respondents typically start planning for the fall/winter holidays
- Halloween: 47% plan two weeks to one month ahead
- Thanksgiving: 59% plan two weeks to one month ahead
- December holidays: 63% plan one to three months ahead
A closer look at category-specific Halloween shopping trends
The survey also took a deeper dive into where respondents are planning to shop for key Halloween products:
Decorations:
- Physical mass retailer: 43%
- Physical grocery store: 33%
- Will not be purchasing this year: 26%
Candy:
- Physical grocery store: 62%
- Physical mass retailer: 43%
- Club store: 23%
Costumes:
- Will not be purchasing this year: 37%
- Physical mass retailer: 25%
- Online mass retailer: 19%
[READ MORE: NRF: Halloween spending to hit $11.6 billion, most popular costumes are...]
