Have you started your holiday shopping yet? If you wait until after Thanksgiving to shop, you’re faced with the shortest possible holiday shopping season this year, six days shorter than a year ago. According to the National Retail Federation, about 20% of all U.S. retail spending comes in those days between Thanksgiving and Christmas, with a higher percentage for more seasonal products (think toys, games and hobby sales).
So, with Black Friday, Shop Small Saturday and Cyber Monday just days away, I decided to dig into a few 2019 holiday shopping surveys to see what consumers are up to. Here are some highlights.
Early shoppers
If you haven’t started shopping yet, you’re still in good company. According to an early November 2019 survey by CivicScience, non-parents are the most likely to say they have not started shopping (69%). Grandparents are the farthest along in their holiday shopping, having completed more than both parents and non-parents. This rings true in my family! Although my toddler isn’t quite old enough to understand gift giving, I know his grandmas have already purchased a number of gifts.
Black Friday in Europe
Black Friday continues to rise in popularity in Europe. According to Deloitte’s annual European Holiday Shopping Trends Survey, 73% of Millennials (18-34 years old) are planning to purchase gifts on Black Friday, a 7% increase from 2018. Older generations, however, report the same, or even a decrease, in plans to shop Black Friday sales.
Spend
Fifty-one percent of respondents to CivicScience’s survey said they will spend the same amount they did last year. Of those who plan to spend about the same, “a large proportion of this group thinks the economy will get worse (32%) than last year (28%).” And for those who plan to spend less: “In 2018, 40% of this group said they thought the economy would get worse in six months; this year that number jumped to 44%.”
Stress
Do you find the holiday shopping season stressful? According to the Coinstar Holiday Survey, about half of respondents reported that they are stressed about giving the right gift and only 35% of respondents said they love shopping for holiday gifts. Women reported being more likely to stress (56%) compared to men (46%).
But if you’re one of the people still racking your brain trying to find the perfect gift, you may want to give yourself a break. According to the same survey, 31% of consumers don’t remember what gifts they received last year! So that last-minute gift card may be the perfect choice after all.