Consumer Behavior

Retail momentum is all about shifting consumer demand

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November 18, 2021

Retail revenue for the first week of November grew 18%, compared to the same time frame in 2019, and it's not due to panic purchasing behavior.

The jump in discretionary spend reflects that the traditional holiday shopping season kicked off with greater-than-expected intensity and consumer demand remains despite the ongoing supply chain issues, according to The NPD Group's Retail Early Indicator data.

"Despite the possible lack of supply, consumer demand remains, although focus has shifted. Pandemic highflier categories are losing steam from last year as consumers turn their spending to the new areas of focus, like fashion and beauty, that are gaining ground," stated a press release on the research results.

Pre-pandemic comparisons point to a potentially front-loaded holiday season for some categories. Holiday favorites like toys, small appliances and tech experienced high double-digit growth over 2019 results during these early weeks. At the same time, more recent increases in fashion and beauty have yet to translate into consistent gains over pre-pandemic levels.

"Consumers are clearly rushing to get some product before it's gone, but that is not the sole source of this year's early holiday shopping vigor," Marshal Cohen, chief retail industry advisor for NPD, said in the release. "The product shift that came in September and continued through October points to enduring consumer demand, making way for gains in a different set of categories than those that fueled much of last year's growth."