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Survey: Local shopping centers big draw for last-minute holiday purchases

With just two weeks til the big holiday, a new report reveals retail consumers will be hitting local shopping centers to finish last-minute gift-buying and holiday festivity essentials.

December 11, 2015

With just two weeks until the big holiday, a new report reveals retail consumers will be hitting local shopping centers to finish last-minute gift-buying and holiday festivity essentials.

A new International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) survey reveals consumers will hit a local shopping center at least 6.5 times each week and spend an average of $147.00 each visit. That totals $4.3 billion a day in sales or $30 billion a week in sales, states an announcement on the survey data.

"Overall what our research confirms is that today’s tech-savvy consumer is more knowledgeable than ever about the goods and services they desire. Armed with this information, consumers’ holiday shopping journeys are productive and efficient with the shopping center positioned at the heart of their total experience," stated ICSC President and CEO Thomas McGee, in the announcement.

"Whether it’s to find the perfect gift, take the kids to see Santa, support a charitable activity, get the ingredients needed for the holiday cookies, or simply enjoy a meal with friends and family shopping centers are truly the hub of the holiday shopping season," said McGee.

Despite increasing mobile device use for consumer shopping, a good majority — 83 percent of U.S. shoppers — visit a shopping center at least once a week, and that includes 92 percent of the top tech-savvy consumers, notes the study. The research reveals that the young consumer demographic, which are those ages 18 to 24 years old, hit a shopping center 10.8 times a week.

"Although it may seem counter-intuitive that the most wired consumer, millennials between the ages of 18-24, spend the most time at shopping centers, today’s shopping centers are more than places to simply buy goods and services as they have incorporated a multitude of dining and entertainment venues into their tenant mix," said McGee. "Combined with the fact that shopping is no longer a choice between clicks and bricks but rather an omni-channel journey that often leads to fulfillment at a physical store, it is not surprising that consumers visit shopping centers so often."

Yet while they are still very attracted to local shopping centers a good number of young consumers have their mobile phone in-hand during visits. The top reasons these shoppers gave for in-store mobile use were to:

• Compare prices (33 percent).

• Check availability (23 percent).

• Get digital coupons (21 percent).

• View ratings (18 percent).

• Email or text friends and family for opinion (18 percent).

• Buy items online while in-store (18 percent).