Many are predicting strong online retail sales this holiday season. Earlier this month, the National Retail Federation released a study claiming 56 percent of shoppers plan to buy online – a 51 percent increase over last year, and a record high according to the NRF.
PunchTab, a technology provider for CPG and retail brands, is claiming an even more aggressive outlook. Surveying over 1,000 U.S. consumers last month, PunchTab found 90 percent of its survey participants were planning to shop online for the holidays.
Grouping survey responses by generation, PunchTab’s findings showed Millennials plan on doing the most online shopping, with 58 percent planning to buy gifts online.
What portion of your shopping will you do online?
When asked how much they plan to spend compared to the 2013 holiday season, 77 percent of survey respondents said they were going to spend “about the same” or more than last year.
How much do you plan to spend on holiday shopping this year as compared to last year?
PunchTab also asked survey respondents which online retailers they plan on using, with Amazon capturing the largest majority – 75 percent – of online shoppers.
Where consumers plan to shop online this year:
According to PunchTab’s study, holiday shopping begins as early as September with 15 percent of survey respondents claiming they have already made holiday purchases. At 64 percent, the majority of respondents said they will do their holiday shopping in November and December.
The study showed 62 percent of survey participants plan to shop on Cyber Monday, making it the most anticipated shopping day of the holiday season. Of the 62 percent, 52 percent said they would be shopping online the Monday after Thanksgiving, and 3 percent planned on shopping in stores, with seven percent claiming they would be shopping both online and in stores.
Fifty-six percent of survey respondents reported they would be shopping both online and in stores on Black Friday, making it the second most anticipated shopping day this holiday season per PunchTab’s findings.
Eighty percent of the survey participants claimed coupons and discounts impact where they shop.
PunchTab said 70 percent of its respondents from “older generations” claimed they would not be using social media to make holiday shopping decisions.
Of the respondents who plan to turn to their social media pages when making holiday purchases, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube were the most popular sites named. Facebook proved to be the social media channel most likely to influence holiday shopping across all three generations.
Which social media channels will you use to decide what gifts to buy and where to buy them?
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