DISCUSSION
Are Americans ready ‘to get back to back to the sport’ of Christmas shopping in stores?
Written by George Anderson
New research shows that Americans are shifting more of their Christmas shopping to stores this year rather than placing orders online.
Eighty percent of consumers plan to shop online this year, down from 85 percent last year, marking the biggest shift to stores since the pandemic began, according to The NPD Group’s annual holiday purchase intentions survey.
NPD also reports that 2022 will be the first year that consumers expect to make more of their holiday purchases in stores (46 percent) rather than online (45 percent). The research firm said this finding was supported by September in-store purchase receipts, which grew one percent year-over-year, while online sales were flat.
"After more than two years of heavy online shopping, consumers are ready to get back to the sport of shopping," Marshal Cohen, chief retail industry advisor for NPD, said in a statement.
Fewer than 75 percent of consumers say they are planning to shop pure play e-tailers this year, down from 79 percent in 2021. There may be a continuing shift to omnichannel retailers with 16 percent planning to pick up orders from stores compared to 14 percent last year.
NPD expects mass merchandisers to be big winners this holiday season as consumers look to stretch their dollars during a period of high inflation. Forty-four percent plan to shop for the holidays at mass merchants, up from 42 percent in 2021.
"Impulse and self-gifting are an integral part of the holiday mix; without them, it is hard to achieve growth," Mr. Cohen said. "Success this season depends on the ability of retailers to leverage promotions and exciting products that play to feelings of shopping cheer. Increasing in-store shopping levels will deliver greater benefits to retailers that can entice consumers into buying on impulse."
Research from SlickDeals published in May points to the role that impulse decision-making plays in retail sales.
Sixty-four percent of Americans told SlickDeals that they have increased their impulse buying in 2022. The average person spends $314 a month on items whose purchase was not pre-planned, according to the study. Fifty-two percent said they are making impulse purchases equally online and in-stores.
The product categories most frequently bought on impulse as seen in the study were clothing (35 percent), groceries (30 percent), household items (29 percent), shoes (28 percent) and consumer technology (27 percent).
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