KING OF PRUSSIA PA – What do winter holiday gift shoppers expect from retailers this year? A more customized shopping experience. Faster delivery of goods purchased online. Flexible ways to afford what they buy. All are according to a consumer survey conducted by researchers in King of Prussia.
Think it’s too early to buy Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa presents? Think again.
Survey results reported Tuesday (Oct. 22, 2024), by e-commerce facilitator Radial Inc., note the 2024 holiday buying window has narrowed. This year’s traditional shopping period from Thanksgiving to Christmas is just 27 days. No surprise: 31% of those surveyed expect to start, or are already, shopping in October.
Expanding on what consumers look from local and online retailers, Radial says “economic uncertainty, product pricing, and delivery timelines” top their minds. Businesses hoping for a successful holiday season must heed several trends, it adds.
What surveyed shoppers want
- Seller transparency. Shoppers want “clear information about product availability,” Radial says. Is there plenty of inventory on hand?, they may ask. The same applies to pricing, and pick-up or delivery. How long will a sale last? How quickly can products be shipped? Are pick-up hours convenient? Is there a pick-up location nearby?
- Retailer preparation. With a shopping period shorter than that of 2023, are “blockbuster” sales scheduled earlier? Forty-two percent of those surveyed say their holiday shopping will align with big campaigns like jump-start sales, Black Friday, or Cyber Monday. They may also question if retailers have enough sales personnel and back-end staffers to serve customers promptly.
- Quicker shipping. From those selling online, the survey shows consumers demand faster delivery times for holiday purchases.
- Twenty-nine percent expect holiday gifts to be delivered within 2-3 days.
- Only 26% say waiting a week or more is acceptable.
- Additionally, “the stakes are high” for retailers who provide “a poor shipping or returns experience during the holidays,” Radial suggests. They could be punished by a majority (73%) of those surveyed, who claim they would not patronize those sellers again.
- Payment choices. Radial’s research reveals 18% of shoppers expect to use buy-now-pay-later or other financing options. Millennial buyers (27%) may be most likely to seek those choices. They indicate “a growing preference for flexible payment methods to manage holiday expenses, without reducing gift-giving, despite economic stressors,” it says.
Radial conducted the survey with an outside firm during August 2024. It targeted 1,000 general U.S.-based consumers age 18 years and older.
Top photo by Artur Verkhovetskiy on Deposit Photos, used by Travels With The Post under license
Center photo by Vadim Vasenin on Deposit Photos, also used under license
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