MOLINE, Ill. — In just two more days, the Retail Holiday Shopping Season officially kicks off. Defined as the 61 calendar days in November and December, this year’s holiday shopping season is expected to generate a record-high $973.8 billion in sales, 4% higher than last year. We’ll discuss this year’s holiday shopping trends, the top gifts and what type of discounts shoppers can expect this year.
News 8's David Bohlman sat down with Mark Grywacheski of the Quad Cities Investment Group to discuss what to expect from the season.
Bohlman: What are some of the bigger trends we should expect this holiday season?
Grywacheski: Probably one of the biggest trends is the continued shift towards early shopping and seeing those earlier discounts. For decades, Black Friday typically served as the unofficial kick-off to the Holiday Shopping Season. Retailers would offer sizable discounts and promotions in an effort to entice shoppers into the holiday spirit and to start opening up their pocketbooks. But over the past few years, consumers have started their holiday shopping earlier and earlier.
In 2020 and 2021, supply chain issues forced consumers to start their holiday shopping much earlier to obtain the limited quantities of inventories retailers had in stock. In 2022 and 2023, high inflation has forced consumers to spread out their holiday shopping budgets.
- 39% of holiday shoppers plan to start their holiday shopping earlier this year than last year.
- 41% of consumers will start their holiday shopping in October or earlier.
- Just 9% of consumers will start their holiday shopping in December.
So, if you’re a retailer and you wait until Black Friday or the Thanksgiving holiday weekend to start your sales/promotions, you’re likely to face a lot of consumers who say “I’m done. I’m tapped out. My holiday shopping season is over!”
Bohlman: We continue to see the growth and expansion of online shopping. How is online shopping expected to impact this year’s shopping season?
Grywacheski: Each year, online shopping continues to take a larger slice of total retail sales.
- This year, online holiday sales are expected to reach a record-high $221.8B, up 4.8% from last year.
- 58% of Americans will shop online this holiday season.
- This year, for the first time ever, shopping on mobile devices (smartphones and tablet computers) is expected to drive more than half (51.2%) of all online shopping sales.
Bohlman: What are some of the other trends and insights consumers can expect this year?
Grywacheski: On average, each person will spend $875 on gifts, decorations, and holiday-related supplies.
- For the 17th year in a row, the number one gift will be gift cards. 55% of shoppers will purchase at least one gift card. Number two is clothing & accessories followed by books and other media, personal care products, and electronics.
- The top shopping destination will be online, followed by department stores and discount stores.
- 75% of American households will put up a Christmas tree. Of that 75%, 84% will use an artificial tree.
- On average, 10% of Americans will get injured putting up their Christmas tree.
- On average, Americans are expected to consume roughly 5,400 calories on Christmas Day, 2.5 times the recommended daily intake.
Quad Cities Investment Group is a Registered Investment Adviser. This material is solely for informational purposes. Advisory services are only offered to clients or prospective clients where Quad Cities Investment Group and its representatives are properly licensed or exempt from licensure. Past performance is no guarantee of future returns. Investing involves risk and possible loss of principal capital. No advice may be rendered by Quad Cities Investment Group unless a client service agreement is in place.
Watch more news, weather and sports on News 8's YouTube channel