Consumers will continue to spend on holiday celebrations in the year ahead, but they think economic uncertainty will affect their plans, according to market researcher Numerator.
In fact, 22% of participants in the Numerator study said economic uncertainty would have a significant impact on their holiday planning, while 31% said a moderate impact and 32% said a slight impact.
To save money in the face of inflation and recession worries, 67% said they would buy items on sale, 48% said buy less, 47% said use more coupons, 39% said prepare budget-friendly foods, 34% said shop at dollar or discount stores, 27% said switch to store brands, and 24% said they would travel less.
Although it depends somewhat on the occasion, about nine in 10 consumers say they’ll make some kind of purchase for a holiday celebration, with Mother’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day low at 88% and Christmas high at 98% and followed by Halloween at 96%.
Although food and alcohol are the top purchase categories for holidays, gifts are particularly important for Christmas, with a 78% buying intention, tied with food, and Mother’s Day, with a 52% buying intention, two points ahead of food. Gifts are also important for Father’s Day and Hanukkah. Flowers and plants are important for Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day, but gift cards are top choices as presents for Father’s Day, Hanukkah and Christmas.
The big spending occasion is Christmas, the only holiday when the majority of consumers, at 70%, intend to spend more than $100 on their celebrations followed by Thanksgiving at 35%, New Year’s Eve at 29%, Hanukkah at 28% and Independence day at $24%.
Christmas is the only occasion when consumers are more likely to shop online, at 75%, than in-person, at 73%, but web-based shopping comes close for Hanukkah, 57% to 60%. The next best split for e-commerce comes for Mother’s Day, with 46% of consumers expecting to shop online versus 71% in-person and Father’s Day with 44% expecting to shop online versus 75% in-store.
