Inflation continues to influence holiday shoppers who are budgeting higher for gifts and other seasonal purchases this year, according to a RetailMeNot survey.
Of the $932 consumers plan to spend, about $732 will be spent on gifts and $200 on themselves.
In the survey, electronics, at 83%, was the top category consumers intended to shop, followed by makeup & skincare, at 79%; toys and games, at 77%, clothing including shoes and accessories, at 77%; home appliances, including products such as slow cookers and grills, at 76%; travel including plane tickets, hotel rooms and luggage, at 75%; jewelry, at 75%, home improvement including drills, tool sets and gardening supplies at 72%; media to own including books, movies and video games, at 72%; home furniture, at 71%; sports and outdoor recreation, at 71%; and home goods and décor including tabletop, pillows, wall art and rugs, at 71%.
In addition, 79% of shoppers plan to purchase to participate in holiday gift shopping this year and 72% plan to shop holiday sales events from October to December.
Gifts for kids are the priority this year, but 52% of shoppers plan to do some self-gifting in 2023, up from 45% a year past, RetailMeNot maintained.
Broken down, gift-giving priorities are:
- Children or grandchildren at 59%
- Self at 52%
- Spouse/significant other at 47%
- Friends at 41%
- Parents or stepparents at 40%
- My siblings or step-siblings at 33%
As to increased self-shopping, the survey revealed that most consumers are choosing to self-gift as a way to not only take advantage of the great deals, at 54%, during this time of year but also to treat themselves, at 45% and boost their mood, at 41%. Then 30% will buy seasonal products, 13% will take advantage of time off work to shop, 13% will establish a self-gifting tradition, 13% will make a fresh start to the New Year and 11% will take advantage of purchased products or services.
When self-gifting, clothing is the top choice at 47%, followed by makeup and skincare at 30%, electronics at 24%, food and beverage at 24%, restaurants at 22%, household supplies at 19%, jewelry at 19%, home goods and décor at 17% and media to own at 17%.
In a career choice, the survey found that 60% of consumers plan to do their holiday shopping online, including browsing or purchasing, during work hours this season.
After Christmas, RetailMeNot indicated that 49% of consumers will shop during the post-Christmas shopping period to take advantage of clearance sales and discounts. Other reasons to shop after the 25th include shopping with fewer crowds in stores, at 27%; treating themselves/gifting themselves a present, at 25%; exchanging a gift they received or shopping with store credit from an exchange at 18%; and enjoying more free time to shop at 17%.
The top products shoppers are planning to purchase post-holidays include:
- Clothing at 37%
- Makeup and skincare at 21%
- Food and beverage at 21%
- Electronics at 20%
- Gift cards at 20%
- Toys and games at 17%
- Restaurant gift cards or a meal at a restaurant they normally wouldn’t visit at 17%
- Home goods and décor at 16%
- Household supplies at 15%
