As the holiday shopping season approaches, most consumers plan to shop online, get an early start and choose eCommerce stores that offer rewards programs.
In fact, 87% of holiday shoppers plan to shop online this year, up from 77% in 2020, according to The 2021 Holiday Shopping Outlook: Why Convenience and Personalization Will Be Key, a PYMNTS and Kount collaboration that surveyed 3,643 consumers from Aug. 26 to Sept. 17.
They plan to get an early start, too, with 48% saying they will begin their holiday shopping before Thanksgiving. This may reflect their wishes to prevent being faced with product shortages. Another 25% plan to begin on Black Friday, the traditional start to the holiday shopping season.
Among those who will start their shopping later, 11% plan to begin on Cyber Monday, 9% after Cyber Monday but before the week of Christmas and 3% the week of Christmas.
As they choose where to shop, 58% of consumers say they are “very” or “extremely” interested in online stores that offer customer rewards programs.
They are also looking for consistent brand experiences in-store and online, with 48% of consumers saying they are “very” or “extremely” interested in that.
The shopping experience ranked third in importance by consumers is a simplified checkout process with merchants that have their customer information. Forty-two percent of consumers are “very” or “extremely” interested in this service.
While consumers of all financial lifestyles are interested in comparable proportions in rewards programs and consistent brand experiences, there’s some variety when it comes to that third item. Forty-six percent of consumers who live paycheck to paycheck and have trouble paying their bills are “very” or “extremely” interested in a simplified checkout process, compared to only 37% of those who do not live paycheck to paycheck.
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