JLL: Holiday budgets up this year, but gift spending to fall; mall visits to rise
Increased spending on holiday-related experiences is expected to trump gift purchases this holiday season.
Holiday budgets are expected to rise 31.7% this holiday season, totaling $1,261 per shopper for gifts, holiday food and décor, and experiences and up from $958 last year, according to JLL’s 2024 Holiday Shopping Survey. Gift spending, however, is expected to make up only 46% of total holiday budgets, compared to 55% in 2023, due to increased spending on holiday-related experiences such as dining out or attending a live performance.
Most consumers will interact with physical retail storefronts this year, even more than in 2023, either by shopping in a mall or an open-air center; picking up curbside or in-store, or a combination thereof. And the first time, department stores topped the list of store types where consumers plan to visit for holiday shopping.
With 57.9% of consumers planning to visit department stores, this increase correlates with the rise in mall visits overall. Mall shoppers are expected to increase by 18.7% and open-air shoppers by roughly 10% this holiday season.
“Our survey indicates that consumers will flock to physical stores this holiday season, with malls emerging as the top brick-and-mortar destination,” said Kristin Mueller, president, retail property management at JLL. “Consumer demand for physical experiences, whether that be dining out, listening to live music, or appreciating storefront décor, has revitalized the mall experience and we’re expecting this resurgence to further accelerate in the 2024 holiday season.”
Additional highlights from the JLL study are below.
•Among physical gifts, clothing, electronics and accessories top the list of items shoppers plan to give others this holiday season. Of the 83% of holiday shoppers who plan to buy a gift for themselves (up from 76.2% in 2023), apparel and electronics top consumers' self-indulgent lists.
•Over eight in ten respondents will use social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to inform 2024 holiday shopping decisions, with TikTok’s e-commerce platform nearly doubling in popularity relative to 2023. While shoppers continue to turn to their digital devices to check gifts off holiday shopping lists, only 12% of holiday shoppers will exclusively order online this season as consumers increasingly prioritize in-store holiday experiences.
•Spending on food and décor is expected to jump 61% from 2023. And holiday entertainment and experience budgets surged 56.4% year-over-year.
•More than 40% of consumers have already started shopping for the holidays. By the weekend after Thanksgiving, 86% of shoppers will have begun.
•More than 50% of consumers plan to shop Black Friday deals in store, compared to 39.5% in 2023. Younger shoppers, primarily Gen Z, are also likely to start during Black Friday weekend, while the big spender millennial cohort (aged 30-44 years) will start shopping notably earlier, with 65.5% starting by Halloween.
