JUST INOur 2024 Holiday Insights Report! 🎁
Get the intel2024 Holiday Gatherings and Shopping Report
Traditional, Practical & Digital
Holiday Spending
Very Practical. Very Convenient.
During the past couple of years, rising prices due to inflationary pressures were certainly a major headline. This year, even with several strong CPI reports and tempered inflation across many categories, consumers are still viewing their holiday shopping plans cautiously, with aims to remain practical.
Nearly half of survey respondents expect to spend roughly the same amount this year as last year. Only a small amount (18%) intend to spend less than last year.
With that in mind, if inflation continues to be reduced, it could mean shoppers are pleasantly surprised that their dollars appear to be going further than past years. Still, while shoppers appear to be cautiously optimistic, they intend to give practical gifts.
Gift-giving preferences vary across generations. Younger adults (18-26) show the most diverse approach, equally favoring experiential, financial, and sentimental gifts (33% each). Practicality dominates among 27-43 year olds (53%). Financial gifts become increasingly popular with age, peaking at 41% for those 60 and older. These trends suggest that gift-givers' priorities shift noticeably as they move through different life stages.
Practicality goes hand in hand with convenience. The vast majority of shoppers are drawn to items that offer free shipping and sales/discounts. Less consumers valued options like bundle deals, social contests, gifts with purchase, and loyalty rewards.
Mass Retailers Dominate, but Dollar, Grocery, and Costco Show Up Strong
When asked which retailers they planned to use to do their holiday shopping, respondents named Amazon most often at 79%, closely followed by Walmart and then Target. The next set of store choices are in line with consumers’ stated intent to give practical gifts: Dollar stores were included by 22% of respondents and grocery stores and Costco, each at 17%.
It’s clear that this is a year where tradition meets convenience. Consumers are balancing holiday traditions with practical shopping strategies this season. Shoppers are gravitating towards mass retailers offering appealing promotions like free shipping and discounts, while utilizing both online and in-store options to fulfill their diverse holiday needs.
Methodology: SmartCommerce conducted a quantitative survey between August 14-15, 2024 with a national sample and collected 600 responses (n=600). Respondents were required to be between the ages of 18-99. The respondents identified as 389 women and 211 men. Fifty-percent of respondents live in suburban areas, while 25% live in rural areas, and 25% live in urban areas. Responses were collected via a polling software that offers non-cash incentives to survey participants.
Want to know more? Want to add questions for our next survey? Contact us at sales@smartcommerce.com.