In 2018, US consumers indicate their average holiday spend will increase from US$1,226 to US$1,536 per consumer. 78% of them plan to spend more or the same amount as they did last year. In the other side, retailers do great efforts this year to influence shoppers’ venue choice and purchase decisions with the right offerings and incentives, as many shoppers enter the season undecided.

In the same context, Deloitte has launched its 33rd annual holiday retail survey to explore the planned shopping behaviors in order to understand what consumers seek in this holiday shopping season. Here is a quick glance:

• Food/liquor (42%) and clothing (40%) are the most planned purchased categories for buyers themselves, while Gift Cards (54%), clothing (53%) and games (46%) are top planned purchased as a gift.
• US consumers plan to increase their budgets for experiences such as entertaining and socializing away from home which represent 40%, or US$611, of the planned holiday budget, while gift giving is 34% or US$525.
• Online retailers will be the main research channel for US consumers before making holiday purchases with a rate of 33%
• Internet/online retailers (including auction sites) is the top type of retailers that US consumers plan to shop for holiday gifts with a rate of 60%, followed by mass merchants (52%).
• Convenience (77%), free shipping (72%), time-saving (67%) and home delivery (66%) are the key reasons for shopping online instead of physical stores.
• 75% of consumers reported that better prices would influence them to try a new store or retailer.
• In terms of holiday promotional offers, 95% said that price discounts is the most preferred type of promotions, followed by free shipping (75%) and free gifts (52%).

Figure Shows the Total Holiday Spending in the US (2002 – 2018)

Methodology:

Data was driven from a national sample of 4,036 consumers aligned with the US census for age and income. The survey was conducted online during September 6–13, 2018.  The survey has a margin of error for the sample of plus or minus 1–2 percentage points.