Survey: Consumers had a very discounted holiday

Plano, Texas – Consumers enjoyed a very discounted holiday season. According to a new survey from Alliance Data Retail Services, there was a 12% increase in the number of consumers saving on holiday purchases using rewards, discount offers and coupons.



Fifty-eight percent of consumers used email discount offers, while 54% used direct mail discount offers and 26% used mobile coupons, a nearly 5% jump from the 2013 holiday season. Nearly one-third of consumers spent more than they did a year earlier. On average, consumers spent $304 on kids, $220 on family members, $140 on significant others and $50 on additional gift recipients.

Looking at what days consumers spent money during the holidays, the survey found that 37% began holiday shopping around Thanksgiving, a 4% increase from the prior year although sales began earlier. Twenty percent of shoppers felt that Cyber Monday offered the best holiday deals, while 17% felt that Black Friday offered the best holiday deals and 16% thought any weekday in December had the best deals.



Top days for holiday credit sales were Black Friday, Saturday after Black Friday, Saturday before Christmas, Saturday, Dec. 13 and Saturday, Dec. 6.



Other notable findings included:



• There was a 1% drop in the number of consumers who said they did the majority of their shopping in-store compared to 2013, while the number doing the majority of their shopping online or via mobile device remained flat.



• Top factors in determining what retailer to order from were free shipping and product price.