Shoppers have smaller budgets and higher expectations for price promotions this holiday season.
U.S. households will spend an average of $466 on gifts, down slightly from $476 last year, The Conference Board reported. About 32% of households will spend $500 or more; 37% will spend between $200 and $500; and 30% will spend less than $200, according to a survey of 5,000 consumers conducted by TNS.
“This cautious attitude will have consumers shopping for bargains this season. Retailers will need to offer discounts and promotions to get shoppers into their stores,” said Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center, in a statement.
A separate survey found that 53% of consumers plan to spend less on gifts this year. Only 9% plan to spend more, according to the survey of 2,150 consumers, conducted by retail consultancy WSL Strategic Retail.
Early promotions and a focus on price have ruined the mood, said WSL in its Pulse Report.
“Retailers, in their rush to capture the first holiday spending dollars, have diluted the emotional appeal of the season. December was once the most festive shopping month of the year. Now it arrives with a trickle of products in October followed by pre-holiday sales in November. … The irrational desire to overspend on gifts has been replaced by a focus on waiting for the sale and carrying coupons, [which are] already in the mailbox. … At this rate, shoppers will be bored and worn out by mid-December.”
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