Survey: Consumers will shop early, online this holiday season

A survey demonstrates most consumers will maintain traditional holiday spending habits, with a couple of modern twists.

According to a recent consumer survey from online discount platform RetailMeNot, 66% of respondents say they plan to spend the same amount of money or more during the upcoming holiday season, in order to create a sense of normalcy and keep traditions alive. Three-quarters of respondents prefer to shop online this year, and the same amount will aim to complete all of their holiday shopping as early as possible. 

Additionally, nearly two in five (39%) respondents say they will shop earlier than they typically do to avoid shipping delays or items being out of stock, while 41% will start shopping in October or earlier. More than 88% say they will not shop the traditional in-store door buster deals on Thanksgiving. 

Amazon Prime Day (just announced as Oct. 13-14) is expected to be the top shopping day in Q4 2020, with 67% of respondents planning to make a purchase during the savings event this year. Well more than half of respondents also expect to make holiday purchases on Cyber Monday (65%) and Black Friday (59%).

When asked what product categories they would include in their holiday purchases, 61% of respondents said they plan on purchasing electronics, 52% plan on purchasing clothing/accessories, 33% plan on purchasing shoes, 23% plan on purchasing jewelry, and 18% plan on purchasing kitchen appliances

"With more people shifting to shopping online, an important option to keep in mind is buying online and picking up in-store or curbside,” said Sara Skirboll, RetailMeNot's shopping & trends expert. “With curbside being a safe way for shoppers to handle their holiday shopping this year and staying out of stores, it also helps ensure timely delivery of gifts."