Nov 19, 2015
Horizon Media Research finds October holiday spending habits are a good indicator of remainder of shopping season

Horizon Media, the privately held media services agency, found that consumers’ shopping behaviors early in the holiday season reveal how they’ll finish out their gift buying for the year.

The research, conducted during the agency’s annual Holiday Shopping Pulse over the past three years, shows that despite not having finished their shopping, consumers have a good gauge of how much they’ll spend early on. Last year, 58 percent of respondents said they’d spend less than $500 in total, while 42 percent said they’d spend $500 or more — and after the holidays, those numbers stayed consistent; 53 percent reported that they had kept their spending less than $500 and the remaining 47 percent had spent $500 or more on gifts. The 2013 Holiday Pulse showed the same consistency; in October 39 percent spent more than $500, and in the end 40 percent did just that. With the third annual Pulse this year, so far consumers are set to spend slightly less: 63 percent anticipate keeping their spending under $500, meaning we’ll likely see minor decreases in spending at the end of the 2015 season.

How they do their shopping is established at the beginning as well. This year, 61 percent say they will do the majority of their holiday shopping online, falling right in line with 2014’s prediction of 56 percent in October, with 58 percent reported doing so after the season ended. Across both 2014 and 2013, consumers said they made 2 in 10 of their holiday purchases on a mobile device, both in October and in January. This year, we’ll likely see that number up a bit once the season has ended: currently, consumers say they’ll be using mobile devices for 23 percent of their purchases — including some on Smart Watches.

Resources used to garner information about what to buy haven’t changed: Amazon holds the top spot across all three years with 65 percent using it in October 2013, 63 percent in January 2014, 60 percent in October 2014, and 57 percent to finish it out this January. This October, 63 percent still report it as their number one resource. The same pattern applies for the other top resources: 4 in 10 turn to friends and family, 4 in 10 consult store websites, and 3 in 10 use search engines online consistently all three years.

When it comes to making their purchases, all-in-one store and websites are far and away the winner this year with over 9 in 10 consumers saying they’ll shop them. This is quite an increase from last year, where fewer than 7 in 10 said the same. Clothing (92%), electronic (73%), and department stores (69%) are all still among the other most shopped for holiday gifts, consistent with 2014. The top four remained unchanged from October through January in 2014, and we anticipate the same for the 2015 shopping season. So far this year, 19 percent plan to do some of their shopping through social media (Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, etc.), an interesting and increasing new avenue to buy from.

Holiday shoppers stick to their plans, routines and resources, sayid Sheri Roder, Chief of The WHY Group at Horizon Media. “As we’ve observed over the past two holiday seasons, consumers’ habits are formed as soon as they begin their search for gifts. What we’ve been seeing so far at this stage in the shopping season leads us to believe people will be staying the course this year as well. Brands and marketers would be wise to get the word out as early as possible on their products in order to fit into the plans shoppers lay out. While shoppers will most likely keep to their process throughout the season, there is opportunity to get in at the beginning to change the course of a consumer’s purchasing and push their dollars in your direction. There are always going to be ‘last minute Larry’s’ — those people who do the bulk of their shopping on the 23rd and 24th — but they are more the exception than the rule.”




Social Connections


📣 Meet our speakers! 📣The Garden Center Show, presented by Lawn & Garden Retailer, is excited to announce our Keynote Speakers! 📣 Michelle Sherrier: Owner of MC Design Academy and host of The Retail Whore Podcast📣 Tim Quebedeaux: Owner of RetailKPI and Service Provider for The Garden Center GroupBe sure to check them out, along with our full, FREE conference schedule for The Garden Center Show, Aug. 6-7 in Rosemont, IL.🔗 Register for FREE: LGRMag.com/GCSRegister🌐 Learn more: www.gardencentershow.com🚌 Bus tour info: lgrmag.com/LGRBusTour#GCS24 #GardenCenterShow #GardenEvents #InPersonEvent #Networking #RetailStrategies #SpecialtyRetailers #GardenCenter #Conference #speaker #keynotespeaker ... See MoreSee Less
View on Facebook
Gift Shop Plus Winter 2024
Get one year of Gift Shop Plus in both print and digital editions for just $16.

Interested in reading the print edition of Gift Shop Plus?

Subscribe Today »

website development by deyo designs