Consumer Behavior

Holiday consumer spend trends will continue in 2023

Photo by istock.com

December 14, 2022

Consumers in the U.S. and U.K. will be trimming non-essential purchases and scaling back on discretionary spending — behavior already taking place this holiday season.

Those are prime findings from an SMG study that polled more than 15,000 consumers across the two countries regarding spending habits in the next 12 months.

In the U.K. 63% of those polled believe their finances will take a hit in 2023. This is a 9% increase from April. Consumers in the U.S. are a bit more optimistic with one in four expecting finances to get worse in the new year, according to a press release on the findings.

When it comes to discretionary spend, the restaurant industry will likely take the biggest hit as 70% of U.K. consumers and nearly 60% of U.S. consumers plan to eat out less in 2023.

In terms of home entertainment 39% of U.K .consumers and 24% of U.S .consumers plan to cancel subscriptions (e.g., Amazon Prime, Netflix).

Retail consumers plan to shop at discount stores more frequently, while restaurant consumers are ordering from cheaper establishments and avoiding delivery fees, according to the study.

"It's clear consumers are following the economy and global happenings closely, and are making spending decisions accordingly," SMG Research Director Kurt Cederman said in the release. "Brands that stay ahead of these consumer trends and prioritize high-value, high-quality offerings will be in the strongest position to gain and retain loyal customers, and SMG has the platform and expertise to enable that proactivity."