What to Know about Holiday Shoppers

Ellen C. Wells

Inflation may be cooling, but consumers are still worrying about jobs, the economy and high prices. Add in the upcoming year-end holidays and we may have something to be concerned about at retail.

This topic was the focus of the new monthly Insighter newsletter, from the folks at Think with Google. A shorter holiday shopping season and continuing worries about inflation will combine to create “discerning, time-crunched shoppers,” they wrote. Here are four things that Insighter said is happening with Holiday 2024 shoppers:

• 61% of U.S. consumers said they can’t afford to make a wrong purchase decision

• 34% said they already started holiday shopping in July, up from 28% last year

• Online video shoppers are 3.9 times more likely to start their shopping research on YouTube

• A late Thanksgiving means fewer shopping days than usual

The piece also offered a suggestion for what retailers can do: Start building a confident consumer. Confident consumers, the Insighter team tells us, are 10 times more likely to be very satisfied with their purchases and are six times more likely to want to buy again.

And what’s a confident consumer? Insighter writes, “The most confident shoppers have higher category knowledge, more relevant information and relationships with brands thanks to previous purchases.”

To me that’s a directive to start talking to your current customers about your holiday offerings. Tell them what your plans for events are, for instance, and what’s in it for them. Help them have a successful holiday season despite its shortened season and economic concerns. GP