More than two-thirds of consumers plan to shop at the same retailers they did last year, with 70 percent saying they plan to do so to remain loyal to certain retailers because of good customer service.
PriceGrabber’s Winter Holiday Shopping Survey reveals that online retailers and discount stores continue to remain the most popular destinations for holiday shopping. When asked to select all the types of stores where consumers plan to shop for gifts, 75 percent chose online retailers, and 68 percent said they would visit discount stores.
Shoppers are also looking for convenience when deciding where to shop. Free shipping was the second reason consumers said they plan to return to their go-to retailers this year, at 62 percent. Fifty-five percent said they like the convenience of shopping online with an easy checkout process, and 40 percent will return to stores located in close proximity to their home.
“As shoppers are looking for convenience and excellent customer service, retailers are aiming to drive shoppers’ wallet share with strong incentives like free shipping, coupons and aggressive price cuts,” said James Brown, vice president of sales of PriceGrabber. “According to the survey, most consumers plan to research their holiday gift purchases in advance. Retailers will need to communicate their deals to the online consumer before they start their shopping or they risk losing customers.”
According to the survey, 33 percent of survey respondents believe the best deals will be available after the Thanksgiving holiday. Twenty-eight percent believe the best deals will be specifically on Black Friday. Additionally, of those surveyed, 24 percent think the month of December will offer the best deals, and 15 percent of shoppers felt that Cyber Monday (Dec. 2) would yield the best bargains.
The survey was conducted on PriceGrabber.com from Sept.13-25, 2013, and includes responses from 2,887 U.S. online shopping consumers.
