Survey: Price, delivery motivate holiday shoppers
A new survey reveals what factors will draw customers to retailers this holiday season – and some that won’t help much.
According to a survey of global consumers from Oracle Retail, 34% of respondents are worried they won't have the money they would like to spend on holiday shopping due to rising commodity prices and 36% are concerned that the gifts they want to buy will be more expensive this year.
Higher percentages of respondents are taking the following steps to reduce the cost of holiday purchases:
- 71% said they would consider a store financing or payment plan to pay for gifts over time (25% of respondents said they have never used one of these plans before).
- 77% said they will shop around for more deals and discounts.
- 77% said they will shop early to ensure they can get the items they want and have more time to shop for deals.
- 71% said they would wait for big sales moments and store holiday sales from their favorite retailers
- 75% said they would perform more price comparisons online and in-stores.
- 73% said they would look to shop at more off-price discount stores.
- Almost 60% said the economic environment will cause them to spend less on the holidays overall.
- 47% said cost will be the main factor in converting them to a holiday purchase.
In addition, seven in 10 (71%) respondents plan to wait for big retail sales events, such as Black Friday (47%) and after-holiday sales (30%).
Top gifts respondents plan to buy more of this holiday season include:
- Fashion apparel (30%).
- Gift cards (295).
- Beauty/personal care products (29%).
- Footwear (28%).
- 28% Electronics (28%).
- Toys (26%).
- Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) or digital collectables (20%).
Home delivery (56%) is the most popular method for respondents to collect items bought online, compared to curbside (21%) or in-store pick up (16%). In addition:
- 47% of respondents said fast delivery often determines who they will order from.
- 62% are willing to pay more for expedited/guaranteed delivery.
- 61% would consider booking a third-party delivery/collection service to ensure they get their gifts on time.
Holiday shoppers look to social media, but not metaverse or influencers
Social media holds the top spot (21%) in how respondents find the most compelling offers and products, followed by email at 19% (up from 10% in 2021), and in-store promotions at 15%. Respondents’ preferred social platforms include Facebook (26%), Instagram (25%), YouTube (15%), and TikTok (14%). Gen Z respondents age 18-24 had substantially higher preference levels for Instagram (33%) and TikTok (22%).
However, fewer than 1% of respondents turn to the metaverse to discover new products, and only 12% said that seeing their favorite social influencers suggest a product as the reason for them to hit the buy.
Additional findings include:
- 48% of respondents prefer to take their returns to the store, with 29% choosing to mail returns to the retailer.
- 43% of respondents plan to shop mostly in-store, and 23% in-store and online
- 29% of respondents said out-of-stock items would constitute a bad experience
- 22% of respondents said they would simply go to another retailer if a product was not in stock.
"For retailers still dealing with the constant loop of limited inventory supplies or surpluses, getting merchandise and pricing strategies right will make or break when it comes to managing margins and customer expectations,” said Mike Webster, senior VP and GM, Oracle Retail.
[Read more: CSA Exclusive: Oracle’s Mike Webster gives advice for the ‘new normal’]
Oracle polled 8,107 global consumers across 11 different countries in late September 2022, including 1,000 people in the U.S. Click here to download the survey.