As the retail year winds down, the Numerator 2022 Holiday Gifting Shopping Preview provides a revealing overview of what shoppers will buy, how much they plan to spend, and when and where they intend to purchase gifts, according to the market researcher.
Among the Numerator findings:
- 74% of shoppers plan to buy gifts online this year, with 64% planning to purchase at mass retailers and 34% at department stores
- Gift cards are the top present of choice, with 60% of shoppers planning to purchase such cards. Gift cards from Amazon, at 35% proved most popular, followed by Target, at 20%; restaurants, at 19%; Walmart, at 18%; and credit card style, at 18%.
- Experiential gifts, including those associated with services and travel, are the only category to see an increase in purchase plans this year, reaching 17% compared to 14% during the 2021 holidays.
- Although experiential gifts gained, they are outside of a top five that includes gift cards, preferred by 60% as already noted, apparel, by 47%; toys or games, at 46%; home goods, at 29%; and accessories at 25%. These are followed but books, at 24%; electronics, at 21% and spa or beauty products, at 20%.
- 15% of holiday gift-givers plan to purchase small appliances, one percentage point fewer than both pet products and alcoholic beverages.
- 59% of shoppers worry about their ability to afford holiday gifts this year.
- 64% of shoppers have a set budget they plan to maintain. In terms of their budgets, 51% of shoppers plan to spend over $500 on gifts, and 17% plan to spend more than $1,000 while 4% plan to spend less than $100.
- 69% of holiday gift shoppers said discounts are somewhat or extremely important to purchasing presents.
- The discount types gift shoppers want to see most are price cuts, at 60%; buy-one-get-one deals, at 46%; rewards points, at 44%; and rebates, at 37%.
