Survey: Black Friday, Cyber Monday not critical for most holiday shoppers
The majority of U.S. shoppers want to finish holiday shopping as soon as possible.
That’s according to a holiday shopping trends survey by Basis Technologies conducted with audience research firm GWI in which 54% of holiday shoppers said they don’t view Black Friday and Cyber Monday as essential for their needs. Among this audience, 65% of respondents said they will shop early to avoid shipping delays and 62% said they want to get their shopping done as fast as possible.
In other findings, 61% of holiday shoppers prefer to shop local or at small businesses and 56% are more likely to buy from retailers or brands that show they care for employees. Also, 37% said they like to buy from minority/women owned stores and brands.
Inflation driving up gift prices was the choice cited most often (64%) by respondents planning to increase their holiday shopping spend. Among respondents that said they will decrease holiday shopping spend, the top reasons for (each selected by 40% or more) are economic worries, uncertainty about the future and having more expenses that are prioritized over gifts.
Basis Technologies’ biannual holiday shopping study was completed in May using responses from more than 2,000 U.S. consumers ages 16-99.
Other findings from the study are below.
Holiday influencers:
•TV ads (traditional and CTV) influences millennials or Gen X holiday gift buying only 10-12% more than the average U.S. consumer. Baby Boomers are much less influenced by ads in any channel than the average consumer.
•For gift buying, millennials and Gen Z tend to be more influenced by social media or general online media ads (ranges from 36% to 68% more) than the average consumer.
•When considering their top personal influences, the top choices for holiday gift shoppers are the gift recipient (52%), recommendations from friends/family (47%) and customer reviews (35%); only 28% of recipients say that brand familiarity influences them.
•53% will shop where there is free shipping; 51% are heavily influenced by sales and promotions.
•53% of holiday gift shoppers prefer retailers that help them find unique gifts.
Finding shoppers:
•Only 18% of holiday shoppers say their will shop ‘mostly’ or ‘entirely’ in-person; 43% say they will do it "mostly" or "entirely" online; 39% say they will do it equally in-person and online.
•Among respondents, 72% will buy gifts on a laptop or computer, 40% through apps, and 20% through social media.
•42% of the Gen Z audience said they are likely to purchase holiday gifts through social media. A low percentage of respondents (26% or less) from other generations said they were likely to conduct this action.
•Among respondents that say they would buy gifts on social media, Instagram (57%) and Facebook (56%) were cited the most as the channel of choice.
“The holiday shopping cycle is poised to start earlier than what’s been normal for marketers, but the important factor is that there will be numerous opportunities to reach customers on different channels—many of them digital—and during different promotion periods,” said Kristin Shamberg, senior VP of research and insights, Basis Technologies. “Economic conditions, speed and convenience, and consumer values may have the most influence on holiday buying. Marketers will be tasked to blend and balance these factors together into cohesive campaigns that engage their customers.”
Basis Technologies is an omnichannel advertising provider for holiday marketers to reach customers on any site or app on any digital device.
