Retailers hoping for a bump in sales this holiday season just received an early gift from JLL: In its latest research, JLL predicts that shoppers are willing to spend more this holiday season.
What’s behind this? JLL points to cooling inflation and the revival of physical storefronts. According to JLL’s 2024 Holiday Shopping Survey, consumers are boosting their holiday budgets by 31.7% in 2024, with shoppers planning to spend an average of $1,261 for gifts, holiday food and décor and experiences.
“We’re not only seeing a shift in the amount that shoppers are spending but also what they spend their budgets on, including a focus less on giving and more on living,” said Naveen Jaggi, president of Retail Advisory Services, Americas, at JLL, in a statement.
According to JLL’s data, consumers are expected to increase their holiday shopping budgets by more than $300 from last year. JLL says that this increase is due in part to a 56% planned uptick in spending on holiday-related experiences such as dining out or attending a live performance. Jaggi says that this is evidence that shoppers are embracing more than just physical goods this holiday season.
Among physical gifts, clothing, electronics and accessories top the list of items shoppers plan to give others this holiday season. An interesting trend? A total of 83% of holiday shoppers plan to buy a gift for themselves this year (up from 76.2% in 2023), with apparel and electronics topping consumers’ self-indulgent lists.
JLL’s survey came with good news for physical storefronts, too. According to the results, Most consumers will visit physical retail storefronts this year, either shopping in a mall or in an open-air center; picking up curbside or in-store; or a combination of these options.
JLL says that Consumers also plan to rely on multiple channels to shop, including an increasing reliance on social platforms for holiday gift ideas.
More than eight in 10 respondents will use social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok when making their 2024 holiday shopping decisions, with TikTok’s e-commerce platform nearly doubling in popularity when compared to 2023. While shoppers continue to turn to their digital devices to check gifts off holiday shopping lists, only 12% of holiday shoppers will exclusively order online this season as consumers increasingly prioritize in-store holiday experiences.
“Our survey indicates that consumers will flock to physical stores this holiday season, with malls emerging as the top brick-and-mortar destination. In fact, we’re forecasting an 18% uptick in mall visits where shoppers can experience the full breadth of holiday spirit,” said Kristin Mueller, President, Retail Property Management at JLL, in a statement.
“Consumer demand for physical experiences, whether that be dining out, listening to live music, or appreciating storefront décor, has revitalized the mall experience and we’re expecting this resurgence to further accelerate in the 2024 holiday season.”
And for the first time, department stores topped the list of store types where consumers plan to visit for holiday shopping. With more than half of consumers (57.9%) planning to visit department stores, this increase correlates with the rise in mall visits overall, where mall shoppers will increase by 18.7% this year.
JLL found, too, that shoppers aren’t waiting to start their holiday buying this season. According to JLL’s research, more than 40% of consumers said that they started checking items off their holiday shopping lists in September. By the week after Thanksgiving, JLL predicts that the number of consumers that have started shopping will more than double (86%) as consumers take advantage of deal days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Deal days will be particularly of interest to younger shoppers, primarily Gen Z, who are expected to start shopping during Black Friday weekend, while the big spender Millennial cohort (aged 30-44 years) will start shopping notably earlier, with 65.5% starting by Halloween.
JLL also reported that more shoppers will head to stores on deal days in 2024 than last year, with more than 50% of consumers planning to shop Black Friday deals in-store, compared to 39.5% in 2023.
