This holiday season might be a particularly strong one for retailers. And the shopping might start earlier than usual. And part of the reason? Consumers are worried about inflation and want to purchase their gifts before the prices of them rise too high.
That’s according to a recent U.S. News & World Report survey.
The survey, conducted in late October, found that almost four in 10 U.S. consumers said that inflation concerns are having a major influence on when they plan to start their holiday shopping this year. An additional 40 percent said that inflation worries were having at least some effect on when they planned to start holiday shopping.
According to the survey, only 12.5 percent of consumers are waiting for the traditional Black Friday sales held the day after Thanksgiving to start their holiday shopping. This might be way creative retailers have already been holding Black Friday sales events, long before the actual day arrives.
The survey found, too, that consumers are worried about issues with the supply chain making it difficult to complete their holiday shopping. Nearly 80 percent of respondents said that these worries will also influence at least somewhat how early they start shopping.
The rise of online shopping is having an effect on consumers, too. Almost 48 percent of survey respondents said they plan to complete their holiday shopping using a mix of online and in-store purchases.
What’s interesting, though, is that inflation worries might not cause shoppers to cut back on their spending this holiday season. We’ve already written about revenge shopping and how consumers are ready to spend this year after many curtailed their holiday activities during the COVID year of 2020. But the U.S. News & World Report survey found that about one in five consumers plans to spend more than $900 on holiday shopping this year.
According to U.S. News, 20 percent of consumers say they plan to spend from $501 to $600, while almost 23 percent say they will spend from $601 to $800.
