Economy Will Fuel Spending Surge This Holiday Season

The holiday season is almost upon us and a recent study The Harris Poll conducted with OpenX uncovered strong consumer confidence metrics that should translate at the cash register this year as more than 80% of consumers plan to spend the same or more on gifts this holiday season than they did in 2017. 

The surge in shopping intent is in keeping with the mindset of today’s consumer. Most consumers feel the economy is doing better today than it was a year ago, and 75% feel it will get even better next year. 41% of millennials, more than any other group, plan to spend more this year.

According to the report, while this is good news for marketers, brands still need to pay attention to certain consumer behaviors in order to make the most of this holiday season. How shoppers consume content, research products and ultimately make purchases is changing significantly, posing opportunities for brand marketers to adapt in order to better engage consumers in today’s highly fragmented media environment.

55% of consumers are on their smartphones for at least three hours a day, and more than a third of millennials and one out of four parents spend 6+ hours on their smartphones daily. 25% of consumers watch no live TV. Millennials watch less than half as much live TV as the average consumer.

As content consumption habits shift further online and into mobile, shopping habits are shifting as well, and it is more important than ever to build omnichannel engagement programs that meet consumers where they are watching content, and where they are choosing to make their holiday purchases. With consumers taking greater control over when, how and where they shop, mobile and digital shopping have now reached parity with in-store shopping and consumers plan on spending nearly an identical amount in-store and online.

Millennials and individuals making more than $100k year both over index towards digital and plan to do more total shopping online than in a physical location, and millennials and parents are inclined to shop from their mobile devices, with both groups expecting to make about one-quarter of their purchases on mobile devices.

“Consumers are confident and plan to spend this holiday season,” said Dallas Lawrence, Chief Brand Officer at OpenX. “The big changes we see this year involves how shoppers consume content and how they plan to spend their holiday dollars. The shift away from traditional television content to mobile is fueling a strong surge in mobile holiday shopping this year. Whether it’s the 1 out of 4 consumers who now make mobile purchases weekly from bed at night or the 10 percent who are now using smart speakers to help research holiday purchases, consumers are shopping in new and unique ways, relying on mobile in particular, and advertisers that have developed smart omni-channel strategies to reach the always on shopper will have the happiest holiday returns.”

The survey also highlighted changing consumer perceptions around key shopping events like Black Friday. Less than half of consumers believe Black Friday is the best day to get deals, and many consumers have strong negative associations with the day, with 60 percent finding it overwhelming. Most consumers say they plan to skip what has traditionally been the biggest shopping day of the year all together in 2018.

Source:The Harris Poll