U.S. holiday shopping survey! Are consumers unable to buy amid high inflation?

It is learned that according to the ICSC's "Annual Holiday Shopping Intentions" survey, affected by inflation, most American consumers are looking for low prices, discounts and free shipping during this holiday season.

The survey shows that 89% of U.S. consumers say inflation will affect their holiday shopping, noting that they will respond to the rising cost of living by purchasing brands that are discounted or on sale (42%), shopping at retailers that offer low prices (37%), or looking for better deals online (32%).

As prices continue to rise, more and more American consumers want retailers to offer discounts and promotions in advance. Among them, 73% of consumers hope that retailers will offer discounts similar to "Black Friday" in the fall. In addition, 65% of people intend to spend more time looking for promotions, and 60% are willing to buy clearance sales.

The survey also found that American consumers are also very concerned about transportation and product supply issues during this holiday season. Due to concerns about shipping delays and increased costs, 57% of consumers intend to buy from physical retailers, an increase of 17 percentage points from 2021.

In addition, 67% of consumers want online retailers to offer free shipping. 66% said they would be willing to wait longer for their products to arrive if retailers offered free shipping, and 59% were willing to pay more for this service.

ICSC also pointed out that 94% of shoppers will shop both online and offline. 90% of adults intend to buy holiday-related items. The top three gift categories are gift cards (62%), clothing and accessories (57%), and toys and games (50%).

According to the ICSC forecast, U.S. consumers will increase spending by 6.7% to $1.56 trillion during the 2022 holiday season. Holiday spending has declined due to inflation.

Editor ✎ Nicole/

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