News

Consumers expect to get holiday shopping done before turkey day

September 19, 2016

Early discounts are one reason one third of consumers expect to finish holiday shopping before November, and many of those shoppers will hit Amazon for gifts. A new Market Track survey reveals consumers expect early discounts well before Black Friday and Cyber Monday, with most saying they hope to have shopping finished by Thanksgiving.

"Competitive pricing throughout the season combined with fabricated shopping events have trained consumers to shop earlier, with a total of 49 percent planning to do the majority of their holiday shopping before the big feast," states an announcement on the survey results.

"Beating other retailers to the punch by taking demand out of the market early is nothing new," explains Traci Gregorski, senior VP, marketing at Market Track. "Look for early digital sales to kick off the season in earnest with compelling deals in October to entice consumers to shop early. In addition, there will be heightened competition for online shoppers with significant online discounting extending to the Saturday before Christmas. Last year we saw discounts on many hot holiday items at 40 percent below the Black Friday sale price toward the end of the season." 

But Black Friday will still be popular, as 52 percent intend to shop that day. Of those polled 61 percent are planning to shop on Cyber Money.

"The survey indicates digital interactions influence 66 percent of shoppers on their in-store purchases. Regardless of when consumers are shopping, the survey indicates 73 percent of shoppers plan on researching prices online ahead of going shopping in-store this season," states the announcement.

Other holiday shopping trends include the growing impact of mobile on the purchase journey and retailers aiming to differentiate in the customer experience.

"Driving traffic in-store is still imperative to profitability due to the propensity of shoppers to add additional items to their cart as they walk through the store—the online shopping experience is much more linear, with less opportunity for add-on items. In order to drive traffic in-store this season, retailers will host events and will do more promotion around service and expertise to lure shoppers in," states the announcement.