Survey: Holiday shoppers are in a hurry

Retailers looking to provide a positive customer experience this holiday season should realize time is of the essence.



According to a new survey of 1,267 U.S. consumers from LoyaltyOne Consulting, 94% of respondents said they expect retailers to take extra measures to keep checkout lines moving during the holiday rush. When asked why they avoided stores completely during the holiday season, 36% of shoppers said their primary reason is waiting too long at the checkout.



In addition, 80% of shoppers said they blame the retailer if they have to wait because of another customer’s coupons, returns or customer service problems. But in the millennial demographic, 40% said they resent the other customer, not the store, for making them wait.



Overall, 89% of all shoppers said they expect retailers to take extra measures to keep departments orderly despite the busy season.



Customers don’t just want a quick and orderly purchase process. Six in 10 (59%) of shoppers said holiday gift return policies make or break their opinion of a retailer.



The survey also asked if customers would be interested in shopping on Christmas. Results were sharply divided. Eighteen percent of all respondents said they would shop on Christmas, with 24% saying they would not shop on Christmas and in fact be less likely to return to or recommend a store that was open on Christmas. This respondent group was a subset of 58% of respondents who said they would never shop on Christmas.



Likelihood to shop on Christmas is higher among younger consumers. Among millennials in the 18-24 age group, 30% said they’d shop on Christmas. Among older millennials in the 25-34 year-old age bracket, 27% said they’d shop Dec. 25. The never-shop-on-Christmas score for young millennials (age 18-24) fell to 53%, for older millennials (age 25-34) it was 52%.