5 Secrets About This Year's Holiday Shoppers
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CREDIT: Dreamstime
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Santa may still be making his list and checking it twice, but holiday shoppers are taking a new tactic when it comes to navigating the choppy retail waters this holiday shopping season.
Steve Schaffer, chief executive officer of DailyDeals.com, a website that curates and aggregates daily deals, offered insights into how this year's holiday shoppers will differ from those of the past.
Holiday shoppers have been shopping all year. "We recently completed a national telephone survey, conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs and commissioned by Offers.com, to ask consumers about their holiday spending," Schaffer said. "The survey found that 49 percent of shoppers have been spreading their holiday purchasing out all year, looking for online coupons, special sales and deals — anywhere they can save. Only 18 percent plan on waiting to shop on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Consumers are stretching their gift budget by finding deals year-round, rather than waiting right up until the holidays to purchase items on their gift list."
The economy is a factor. "Our survey found that 87 percent of consumers plan to spend the same or less than they did last year," Schaffer said. "This means consumers will not be frivolous with their money and will be looking to get the best deals."
More consumers will be shopping online. "Online shopping provides a much better value, selection and convenience than shopping in stores, and online coupons offer extra discounts that often can't be found elsewhere. We expect to see similar types of online coupons and deals that we saw last year."
Consumers will do their research. "Walmart recently announced that it is releasing its Black Friday deals early this year and that they will be offering price-matching against competitors," Schaffer said. "Consumers will have many opportunities to save money by comparing deals and really looking at what the best deals are and what store is offering them."
Daily deal sites are going to play a larger role with holiday shoppers. "Our survey found that nearly 30 percent of consumers have used daily deal sites to save on purchases," Schaffer said. "Retailers and business owners should consider participating in a daily deal site if they want to catch consumers' attention."