Deloitte: In a first, online to match physical store spending this holiday

Online shopping seems poised to make history this holiday season.



Retailers could see record Web traffic this holiday, with 50% of consumers saying they play to shop online for gifts, according to a new survey by Deloitte, followed by discount/value department stores (43%).



Survey respondents anticipate they will spend 47% of their budget online, which matches what they plan to spend at physical stores for the first time.



"The way people shop online is having a profound impact on holiday spending this year," stated Rod Sides, vice chairman, Deloitte LLP and U.S. retail, wholesale and distribution practice leader. "Retailers must cater to that digital mindset long before someone walks into a store. If retailers treat online and in-store shopping as mutually reinforcing rather than competitive forces, they can create more opportunities across the business."



Deloitte’s 31st Annual Holiday Survey of consumer spending intentions and trends found that online shopping may also take some share from physical store categories big and small. Fewer people surveyed plan to visit standalone "big-box" retail stores, dropping from 63% to 59% this year; traditional malls fell slightly from 53% to 50%, and independent stores dropped four percentage points to 38%.



Overall, people surveyed plan to spend an average of $998 on the holidays this year. Despite the ubiquity of the current presidential race, 73% of shoppers say they do not think the election will impact their holiday spending.



In other survey findings:



• Sixty-six percent of respondents expect they'll be "webrooming," or looking at items online, before making a purchase in a store.



• Fifty-percent of shoppers will take part in "showrooming" by going to a store to look for an item, then searching online for the best price and making their purchase there instead of the store.



• Forty-three percent of holiday shoppers surveyed expect to use retailers' "buy online, pick up in store" feature.



• More than half of smartphone owners using their devices for holiday shopping say they plan to shop or browse online (56%), read reviews (51%) and get product information (50%) – all increased from last year.



• While research still trumps purchases on smartphones, mobile transactions are gaining ground. This holiday season, 43% of smartphone owners surveyed expect to make a mobile purchase, up from 35% last year.



• Holiday shoppers plan to purchase an average of 14 gifts this year, on par with 2015, and will spend an average of $426 on gifts and gift cards.



After four years of rising non-gift spending intentions, respondents are starting to rein in the amount they plan to put toward these categories. Holiday travel and dining out, entertaining, non-gift clothing for themselves or families, home/holiday furnishings and decorations and other miscellaneous holiday purchases total $572 in this year's survey.



"Retailers may also find that while consumers uphold the spirit of gift-giving, people may not feel the need to indulge on themselves as much this year," Sides added. "We saw a lot of replenishment in non-gift categories over the last few years, and that may be starting to cool off a bit. As people find lower costs for expenses such as travel, they may choose to hang on to those extra savings. Several years of extended and highly competitive holiday promotions among retailers have also reinforced consumers' expectations that they don't have to pay full price."



Overall, people surveyed plan to spend an average of $998 on the holidays this year. And despite the ubiquity of the current presidential race, most shoppers (73%) say they do not think the election will impact their holiday spending.