by Matthew Holloway | Nov 30, 2024 | Economy, News
By Matthew Holloway |
The National Retail Federation (NRF) and Prosper Insights & Analytics have released a new survey indicating the hottest selling toys and gifts for the holiday season.
In a press release, NRF Vice President of Industry and Consumer Insights Katherine Cullen introduced the survey saying, “The holiday season is in full swing and while many consumers have made progress on their shopping lists, most shoppers will make the majority of their purchases over the coming weeks. Whether shoppers are looking to spread out their purchases or seeking the best deals, retailers are ready to help consumers with all their shopping needs this holiday.”
According to the survey, the NRF forecasts that 2024 holiday spending will increase by approximately 2.5-3.5% and total between $979.5 billion and $989 billion.
In the category of toys, the survey found real-world toys like Legos, Hot Wheels, and other toy cars reigning supreme over video games and video game consoles for boys. For girls, it found Barbie and other dolls standing tall with Legos, followed by cosmetics and beauty products.
For adults, the survey found that the top five gift-giving categories will be clothing (54%), gift cards (44%), toys (36%), books, video games, movies, series and other media (31%), as well as food and candy (30%).
For gift cards, the most popular are those for restaurants at 30%, department stores at 25%, bank-issued gift cards at 25%, and coffee shop gift cards at 22%.
Prosper Insights & Analytics Executive Vice President of Strategy Phil Rist explained that most shoppers will find their gift inspirations online. He said, “Younger shoppers continue to embrace social media for gift ideas, with those between the ages of 18-24 more likely to find inspiration through platforms such as TikTok (28%) and Instagram (27%). These shoppers are also more likely than any other age group to purchase jewelry, with 30% planning to gift these items.”
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Terri Jo Neff | Dec 5, 2021 | Economy, News
By Terri Jo Neff |
In October, the National Retail Federation projected nearly $860 billion in 2021 holiday sales, bolstered by customers planning to spend more than 2020. Online retailers and the brick-and-mortar type retailers were also told to expect one-half of shoppers to begin their holiday purchases even before Thanksgiving.
Many economists also forecasted that holiday shoppers will be purchasing fewer items but would be willing to spend money for better quality and more substantive items, if supply chain problems don’t get in the way. All of which means a lot of eyes were focused on the results from the key Thanksgiving holiday shopping days including Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday.
Sensormatic Solutions provides services to retailers in the areas of inventory intelligence, shopper experience, loss prevention, and operational effectiveness. According to Sensormatic, shopper activity on Nov. 26 through Nov. 28 increased more than 34 percent compared to 2020. During the same three days, however, traffic at brick-and-mortar stores was 21 percent lower than in 2019.
It is unknown whether the decision by most major retailers to remain closed all of Thanksgiving Day had any impact on buyer decisions. But one retail executive says December 2021 still provides unique opportunities and challenges for retailers.
“Shoppers are returning to stores, but there are still lingering health and safety concerns making some cautious of traditionally crowded shopping days,” said Brian Field, senior director of global retail consulting for Sensormatic. “With a data-driven understanding of customer concerns, retailers can implement processes to help make shoppers feel comfortable in stores – via occupancy monitoring, temperature checks, extended hours and a seamless contactless shopping experience.”
Sensormatic also looked at Cyber Monday data. One change over 2020 is that many retailers with physical stores made their online sales pricing and special offers available to in-store shoppers. But those Cyber Monday offers did not help generate additional foot traffic, which ended up being similar to a typical fall day.
“Though the mix of weekday shopping had been on the rise throughout the pandemic as shoppers take advantage of more flexible work schedules and try to avoid weekend crowds, Cyber Monday typically has no impact on in-store traffic and the same was true of this year,” Field said.
Yet according to Field, the overall data shows retailers should breathe a sigh of relief with the direction holiday sales are taking.
“Over the past month, in-store traffic has progressively improved as consumers have started their holiday shopping early,” Field said. “Retailers are seeing positive change year over year, and the Black Friday weekend data shows an upward trajectory toward pre-pandemic levels.”
