U.S. consumers plan to spend about 3.2 percent less on holiday-related shopping this year, according to the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) 2009 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, released Oct. 20. Conducted by BIGresearch, the survey showed that U.S. consumers plan to spend an average of $682.74 on holiday-related shopping come, compared to the $705.01 the NRF estimates they spent in 2008.

“While last holiday season was filled with chaotic confusion, adjusting to uncertainty has now become routine for many Americans,” said NRF President and CEO Tracy Mullin. “This holiday season will be a bit of a dance between retailers and shoppers, with each group feeling the other out to understand how things have changed and how they must adapt.”

Americans’ new focus on bargain hunting is shifting many shoppers’ priorities.
According to the survey, more than half of holiday shoppers cited sales and price discounts (43.3 percent) or everyday low prices (12.7 percent) as the most important factor in deciding where to shop. Emphasis on selection (21 percent), quality (11.8 percent), convenience (4.9 percent) and customer service (4.4 percent) declined compared to last year. The majority of holiday shoppers (70.1 percent) said they would shop at discounters, although more than half (55.8 percent) also said they planned to shop at department stores. Also on shoppers’ radar are grocery stores (45.0 percent), the Internet (42.4 percent), clothing stores (33.8 percent) and electronics stores (31.8 percent). In addition, 11.4 percent of holiday shoppers will buy gifts or other holiday-related merchandise at thrift stores or resale shops. In order to compensate for soft sales, retailers are cutting back on inventory, a trend with which retail jewelers can identify.

“In anticipation of weak demand, many retailers scaled back on inventory levels to prevent unplanned markdowns at the end of the season,” Mullin said. “Once the most popular items are gone, retailers won’t have anywhere to get them, so if there was ever a holiday season to buy early, this is it.” Many holiday shoppers are starting early, with the survey showing that 39 percent of Americans plan to begin their holiday shopping before Halloween.

As in previous years, three-fourths of holiday budgets will be spent on gifts, with spending on family members slipping 2 percent ($387.06 in 2009 versus $395.15 in 2008); spending on gifts for friends ($66.77 versus $80.13 in 2008) and co-workers ($19.26 versus $22.63 in 2008) declining by double digits; and spending on gifts for “others,” such as teachers and clergy, falling 5 percent ($34.81 versus $36.88 in 2008).

Candy and food spending may be one bright spot this year, with the average spend in that category increasing $10, while spending on other non-gift categories, such as decorations ($40.75 versus $43.45 in 2008), greeting cards and postage ($26.77 versus $27.39 in 2008) and flowers ($17.05 versus $19.10 in 2008) is expected to drop.

Although Americans were less inclined to purchase gift cards last season, the popular gifts retain their spot at the top of the list among recipients. According to the survey, 55.2 percent of adults would like to receive a gift card this season, with clothing (48.8 percent), books and DVDs (48.6 percent) and electronics (33.2 percent) topping the list.

“While the economic climate has shown some improvement from last holiday season, retailers are not out the woods yet,” said Phil Rist, executive vice president of strategic initiatives at BIGresearch. “With a variety of factors still up in the air, including uncertainty over job security, many Americans just aren’t buying into the talk of recovery.”

The NRF continues to forecast that 2009 holiday sales will be down 1 percent, totaling $437.6 billion.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 21st, 2009 at 8:00 am and is filed under Breaking News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.