Accenture predicts holiday cheer for retailers: 1-in-4 consumers plan to spend more this year

NEW YORK — Accenture on Thursday released its annual holiday shopping survey, finding that consumers are expressing increased optimism about their personal finances this year. One-in-four U.S. consumers plan to spend more on holiday shopping this year compared to 20% in 2013, and spending on holiday gifts is expected to average $718. 

 

The survey also found consumer enthusiasm for Black Friday shopping has reached its highest level in eight years. Two-thirds of respondents (66%) said they are likely to shop on Black Friday, compared to 55% who planned to do so in 2013 and 44% who said the same back in 2007. In addition, 37% plan to shop online during that period using a desktop, mobile device or tablet, which is up from 32% in 2013. Plans to shop on Thanksgiving Day and evening rose to 45% from 38% in 2013. Of those consumers planning to shop on the holiday, 47% said that they will be shopping in a physical store between 6 p.m. Thanksgiving Day and 5 a.m. on Black Friday.

 

The Accenture Holiday Shopping Survey found that of those consumers planning to spend more this year, 28% said they have more discretionary income and 22% noted that they have greater job security, up from 15% in 2013. Additionally, consumers are planning to allocate a greater share of wallet to holiday shopping than in previous years. For example, of those planning to spend more this year, 47% plan to spend $250 or more compared to 40% in 2013. Of the 19% of consumers who plan to spend less this year, 41% said they will reduce the amount they spend by less than $100.

 

Even though they intend to spend more, holiday shoppers remain keenly focused on discounts and sales. Nearly all respondents (96% versus 94% in 2013) said that discounts will be important to their purchasing decisions, and more than one in four (29%) said that it would take a discount of 50% or more to persuade them to make a purchase.

 

Retailers could also see a shift in sales in the post-holiday season this year, as more than half (57%) of consumers plan to purchase gift cards (the top item on consumers’ shopping lists) this year and 17% will use gift cards to do their holiday shopping, up from 10% in 2013. For example, a gift card may prompt additional sales when the card is redeemed since it is likely that the recipient will spend extra money to buy an item of greater value, versus leaving a balance on the card.  Moreover, by offering an incentive for holiday gift card buyers to make additional purchases or to enroll in their loyalty card program, retailers might be able to convert holiday enthusiasm into a brand relationship that extends throughout the year. 

 

“The holiday shopping season is one of the most competitive times of the year for retailers, but they also have a big opportunity to drive sales and acquire new customers,” said Dave Richards, global managing director, Accenture’s Retail practice. “The majority of retailers look for ways to extend the holiday season as late as possible, but can face challenges in delivering a physical product in time. Personalized promotions and pushing gift cards are a good way for retailers to continue momentum and stretch this success into the post-holiday season.”

 

When asked how likely they would be to share more of their personal information, such as contact details and preferences, in order for retailers to be able to provide them with personalized and customized offers during the holidays, one-third (33%) of consumers said that they would be likely to do so.

 

As consumers continue to make greater use of laptops, smartphones and tablets, as well as social media, for  online shopping, these advanced technologies will play a more prominent role in holiday shopping this year. More than half of consumers surveyed (63%) indicated that they will use a laptop or home computer to make purchases or assist in their holiday shopping this season (up 16 percentage points from last year), and 24% plan to use a smartphone, up from 18% last year. In addition, 13% of respondents said that they intend to use social networking websites to assist them in their holiday shopping, up from 11% in 2013 and 8% from 2012.

 

Furthermore, more than one-third of shoppers (36%) said that they would shop this year using a mobile phone, smartphone or tablet in-store in order to compare prices, and 21% said that they believe that the technology to do that has improved significantly. Additionally, half of survey respondents said that they would be willing to try, would definitely use or are using a service that would enable them to pay using their mobile phone at checkout. At the same time, 44% of the survey respondents said that an easy-to-use website would make them more likely to buy holiday gifts online.

 

 

When doing their in-store shopping this holiday season, many consumers say that they would be willing to use new digital tools. As many as 71% of respondents said that they are using, would definitely use or are willing to try out a mobile tool that scans products as they’re placed in a shopping cart and keeps a running tab of the total amount spent. Additionally, 76% said that they would definitely use or would be willing to try mobile services that provide them with real-time promotions and offers as they shopped in-store, if those services were offered.

 

“Mobility is having a dramatic impact on retail shopping as customers are walking into retail stores with their own smartphones and tablets, which provide them with complete product and pricing transparency,” said Richards. “With over one-third of survey respondents saying they would shop this holiday season using a mobile device in-store in order to compare prices, it is critical for retailers to make it seamless for consumers to trade on mobile applications by incorporating social media and mobile technologies into their stores and multichannel environments. It is more important than ever that retailers switch from a mass-marketing approach to promotions and embrace mobile and other digital tools to deliver more targeted one-to-one offers.”

 

The survey revealed that 49% of consumers had already started, or planned to start, the majority of their shopping in September, well in advance of Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Nearly one-fifth of survey respondents (19%) said they had already spent between $100 and $500 on holiday gift purchases by mid-September of this year. One contributing factor could be that over the past three years, the number of consumers who believe the best discounts of the season can be found before Thanksgiving and Black Friday has been rising steadily — to 18% in 2014, compared to 14% in 2013 and 12% in 2012.

 

The results of the survey further showed that despite some consumers seeing an increase in discretionary income,  rising prices — specifically for food, gas and home energy bills — remain a concern among some consumers and will affect some spending this holiday season. The survey results do indicate, however, that many consumers are planning ahead to pay for their holiday shopping: 57% of respondents say they will pay for their holiday purchases with cash they have put aside, a small increase from 52% last year.

 

This holiday se