Robust Sales for Holiday Weekend

More Americans went shopping over the Thanksgiving weekend than in recent memory, and online shopping accounted for the highest percentage of the weekend's sales yet.

The average amount spent per person from Thursday to Sunday was about $365, more than a 6 percent increase over last year, according to a survey of about 4,300 Americans by the National Retail Federation, a trade group that reported results on Sunday afternoon.

And an estimated 212 million people shopped, up from 195 million last year. That is the highest number of Thanksgiving weekend shoppers since the first survey in 2004.

Spending on discretionary items rather than bargain-basement discounts seemed to help push the weekend total to a high of $45 billion, up from about $41.2 billion recorded in the last two years.

Spending over the holiday weekend usually accounts for about 8 to 9 percent of the season's sales, but Ellen Davis, a National Retail Federation spokeswoman, cautioned it was not always a predictor of how busy the holiday season would be. In 2008, one of the worst holiday seasons in recent years, survey respondents said they had spent about $373 on average, a record high.

"It's important to keep the economy in mind here. Sometimes Black Friday is not an indicator of the holiday season, because people are so focused on deals that they'll get themselves up early," she said, while in better economic times, they will shop even on days without huge promotions.

A broader picture of early holiday performance will be available on Thursday, when several companies report November sales at stores open at least a year.

Online, results were strong.

Though companies traditionally began their online holiday sales push the Monday after Thanksgiving, this year, they emphasized promotions on Thanksgiving Day and the day after, often called Black Friday, and the efforts seemed to work. About 33.6 percent of weekend shoppers bought online, which, according to the federation's study, is the highest percentage ever.

Other data suggested similar increases in online spending. On Thanksgiving, online sales increased 33 percent over a year earlier, while on Friday, sales increased 15.9 percent, according to Coremetrics, an I.B.M. company, which gathers actual online sales results of more than 500 retailers, including Macy's, Williams-Sonoma and Petco.

MasterCard Worldwide said its Friday transaction data indicated that spending in the category that includes online shopping was accelerated even faster this year than it did the year before.

"People are doing more of their shopping online," said Michael Manchisi, chief technology officer for MasterCard. Growth in that category, which MasterCard calls "consumer not present," so it also could include catalog or telephone sales, also outpaced growth in in-store purchases this year.

ComScore, an online research firm, said online retail spending increased 13 percent, to $11.64 billion, in the first 26 days of November versus the same period a year ago. Online spending on Thursday rose 28 percent, and online spending on Friday rose 9 percent, to $648 million, the biggest sales day yet in 2010.

Cheryl Schiller, a part-time auditor and high school track coach who lives in the Boston suburb of Arlington, is a tiny contributor to the increase in online sales. Though she was browsing at a crowded Best Buy in Boston, she had already bought a third of her holiday gifts from various sites.

"Online is the way to go," she said. "We're getting better at planning the shopping."

The strength in online shopping may explain why another report, issued Saturday, showed slow growth for Friday sales.

In-store sales increased only 0.3 percent on Friday, to $10.69 billion, ShopperTrak said, while traffic increased 2.2 percent.

ShopperTrak uses cameras to observe traffic at malls and retail outlets, then uses known conversion rates -- the percentage of shoppers that actually buy something at a specific store, economic indicators and other factors -- to estimate total sales.

The National Retail Federation said that the difference between its data and ShopperTrak's could be attributed to ShopperTrak's not measuring online sales, to looking only at Friday sales rather than the extended weekend and to measuring largely shopping at big malls, rather than big-box stores or boutiques.

The National Retail Federation data also indicated people were buying for themselves, rather than spending only on gifts, which was echoed by shoppers interviewed on Friday.

There was a shift in spending "away from basics and necessities and more toward discretionary items," Ms. Davis of the federation said. "We certainly saw that this weekend. Some of these items may have been gifts and some may have been self-gifting purchases."

Weekend shoppers who said they bought jewelry, for instance, rose to 14.3 percent this year, from 11.7 percent last year.

I.B.M. data showed an increase in jewelry spending as well, with online jewelry retailers reporting a 17.6 percent increase in sales compared with the Friday a year ago.

A higher percentage of men than women said they were buying consumer electronics, according to the federation's survey, and a higher percentage of women said they were buying items like jewelry, home furnishings and beauty items.

That suggested people were snapping up items for their own use, Ms. Davis said.

"It certainly implies that some of these items were self-gift purchases," she said. While a man could be buying his wife a Blu-ray DVD player and a woman could be buying her boyfriend a watch, the overall impression, Ms. Davis said, was that "people were out buying for themselves."

That was the case in Santa Monica Place, an upscale Los Angeles area mall, on Friday. Rachel Farzam, 25, was shopping with her mother and her sister. Ms. Farzam's mother had already bought a handbag and a gold bracelet from Nordstrom. The women had also bought laptops, a GPS unit and a hard drive at Staples. By late morning, they were surveying jewelry at Tiffany.

"We're out looking for deals, but if we see something nice, we'll still get it," Ms. Farzam said. "It's just fun."

And in Atlanta, before the Apple Store opened on Friday morning, the first people in line were Jose Aguiar, 50; his son Tiago, 20; and two of Tiago's friends. They had driven 45 minutes from Kennesaw and were in line at 2 a.m.

The store opened at 5 a.m., and by 5:05, the group had bought their items -- an iPad and four iPods -- and were ready to leave. There were no special prices that day, which disappointed Jose Aguiar.

"I thought it would be much cheaper," he said, but it didn't stop him from buying.

Despite all the industry frenzy around the day, Laura Gurski, a partner and global head of the retail practice at the consulting firm A. T. Kearney, said she thought it was becoming less important over all.

"The earlier retail promotions begin to diminish the importance of Black Friday in terms of a year over year comparison of the specific day," she said in an e-mail. "As the retailer's strategy has changed, so has the consumer's behavior, right along with it."

(Source: The New York Times 11/29/10)

Cause Marketing

Consumers Set High Bar for Cause Marketing

It wasn't long ago that "cause-related marketing" was a novelty. Then it turned into a necessity -- something companies had to do if they wished to be welcome in polite society. Now, as the new edition of Edelman's annual Goodpurpose study makes clear, consumer expectations have evolved in such a way that companies must make sure their involvement with causes amounts to much more than a marketing ploy.

These days, found Edelman, consumers set the bar high for companies when it comes to their involvement in social issues. Among respondents to polling in the U.S. (fielded in August), 87 percent agreed that "business needs to place at least equal weight on society's interests" as it does on its own interests. And this can't be just a matter of handing one of those oversized checks to some charity: 62 percent said it's "no longer enough for corporations to give money; they must integrate good causes into their everyday business." Of course, this doesn't mean money is a trivial aspect of corporate commitment to good purposes, as 63 percent of respondents also said they "expect brands to donate a portion of their profits to support a good cause."

According to Mitch Markson, chief creative officer at Edelman and founder of its Goodpurpose study, "It's a matter of brands ingraining the cause into their DNA." And that, in turn, means the cause should have some plausible connection to the brand's own business. "I think it speaks to the need for a company to ask what its business purpose is and to find its cause through that purpose. If you go back to what is the purpose of the brand or company, I think there's a natural pathway to finding a cause," he says.

Mitch Baranowski, principal and chief creative officer at BBMG (a firm whose specialties include analyzing consumer interest in corporate behavior vis-à-vis environmental and other issues), concurs on the importance of choosing a cause that truly fits the company's core identity. Speaking of "conscious consumers" who are alert to matters like corporate social responsibility, he says, "They see companies and causes in a holistic sense. While they often see the benefit of more traditional cause-related marketing, they are candidly more interested in seeing companies be the cause -- for example, Tom's Shoes and Newman's Own -- rather than engage in 'stick-on' cause-related marketing that risks being inauthentic if done poorly." Drawing the implication of this for companies, he says, "If you are to engage in cause marketing, do so in a way that is authentic to your brand. The cause should be relevant to your consumer set and align with who you are and what you do. It shouldn't be an order dictated by the C-suite for no apparent reason."

'A UNIQUELY POWERFUL POSITION'

If consumers expect a lot from business in committing to good causes, it's because they think it's capable of a lot -- and perhaps all the more so in an era of skepticism about what government can and should do. Eighty percent of Edelman's respondents agreed that "corporations are in a uniquely powerful position to make a positive impact on good causes."

Happily for marketers, it's not purely a matter of imposing obligations on companies. Consumers will also reward a company that makes engagement with good causes an integral part of the way it does business: 72 percent in the Edelman polling said they're "more likely to purchase a product from a company that supports good causes and has fair prices than a company that simply offers deep discounts." And while a willingness to pay a premium for cause-supporting products is less than universal, 34 percent said that, in the past six months, they've "purchased a brand that supports a good cause even if it was not the cheapest." That dovetails with the findings of recent polling by BBMG in which 81 percent of respondents said they bought more "socially and environmentally friendly products and services" in the past year than they'd done in the preceding year.

Consumers will also enlist as unpaid spokespeople for brands they believe have a purpose beyond just making profits. Sixty-six percent of Edelman's respondents subscribed to the statement, "I would help a brand promote their products or services if there is a good cause behind them." Surprisingly, given the foibles of human nature, the impulse to reward good corporate deeds seems more common than the inclination to punish bad ones. If a company failed to engage with worthy causes, 34 percent "would criticize it to others" and 36 percent would "refuse to buy its products/services."

CONSUMERS AS PARTICIPANTS

If a company does integrate cause-supporting behavior into its normal operations, rather than making it a conspicuous add-on, does this raise a danger that consumers won't notice its good deeds and give credit for them? Not if the company makes a point of involving consumers in the cause-supporting action -- as, for instance, Pepsi (an Edelman client) has done with its Pepsi Refresh project, which invites consumer input in choosing causes to be funded. In the social networking era, people expect and seek such participation, especially since they feel it will yield the most benefit for good causes. Edelman found 74 percent of respondents agreeing that "brands and consumers could do more to support good causes by working together."

Says Markson: "To me, it's about whether the consumer is partnering with and participating with companies to do something good. If you're involving consumers in your community of cause, we'll all get the credit."

This also empowers consumers to affect the corporate world in a way they normally cannot. Says Markson of such corporate-consumer cooperation on behalf of causes: "It allows consumers to put their mark on it. They can't be involved in setting price or developing product, but they can be involved in defining a company's engagement with a cause."

The long economic downturn has lent a greater urgency to this. Markson notes that the overseas portion of the Good purpose polling found people in emerging markets "have higher expectations of companies on social issues than we do in the West, because they're closer to social need." The bad economy here may be creating a kind of global convergence in that regard as economic hardship bites harder for many in the developed countries. This also blurs the divide between self-interest and social interest. Says Markson: "Thinking about 'me' may also be thinking about a social issue, because it might affect 'me.'"

When Edelman asked respondents in the U.S. to identify the causes they'd like to see companies engage in, "alleviating hunger and homelessness" topped the list, cited by 89 percent. "Maybe we're getting closer to the need here, too," Markson says.

(Source: Brandweek, 11/16/10)

Foodservice Driving Convenience Store Visits

Foodservice has become a key area of opportunity for convenience stores across the country. As revenues from gasoline and tobacco products fall, foodservice sales increasingly are becoming c-stores' most profitable category, according to Technomic Inc.'s Convenience Store Foodservice Consumer Trend Report. As more c-stores increase their focus on providing a wider variety of fresh, high-quality food offerings, competition is heating up within the market -- and the foodservice industry as a whole. C-stores are striving to gain a greater share of stomach and to compete with restaurants.

In many cases, foodservice drives c-store visits, said Chicago-based Technomic. Of those consumers who visit c-stores at least once every six months, nearly half (47%) indicate that they visit these locations for foodservice purchases at least once a week. Within this group, about a quarter (24%) visit two to three times each week and 8% visit daily for foodservice items.

C-stores are not top of mind, however, for many consumers as a place to source meals or snack, Technomic added. Technomic developed the Convenience Store Foodservice Consumer Trend Report with findings from an online survey of more than 1,500 consumers conducted in July 2010. About a fifth of consumers polled (18%) report that they rarely or never visit c-stores specifically to purchase items from the foodservice area. Because Technomic wanted to gauge the usage and preferences of consumers who purchase foodservice items from c-stores, these consumers were disqualified from the survey after this point.

Technomic asked consumers to estimate what percentage of all foodservice items typically purchased at c-stores are for breakfast, lunch, dinner and for snacks. The results reiterate the extent to which c-stores are primarily visited for snacks rather than for meals.

Consumers say that about 48% of the items they purchase at c-stores are intended as snacks. About a quarter (23%) of the prepared food and beverages consumers purchase at c-stores are for breakfast and a fifth (20%) are for lunch. Showing foodservice purchases by daypart also reinforces how low patronage is at dinner in comparison to other occasions. Only about 10% of consumers' total c-store foodservice purchases are for dinner.

A large proportion of the food that consumers order at c-stores is eaten in the car or en route to someplace. Options purchased for breakfast are most likely to be consumed in the car (72%), while walking or biking (26%) or on public transportation (21%). Although lunch from a c-store is primarily eaten in the car (55%) or at work (49%), two-fifths of consumers polled (40%) take items to eat at home or someone else's house.

Dinner, when sourced from a c-store, is most frequently eaten at home or someone else's home (65%), followed by in the car (45%). More often than breakfast or lunch, dinner is also eaten at the c-store (33%). Perhaps this is because stores are less busy at dinnertime hours and there is more seating available.

For snacking occasions, consumption in the car (57%), at home or someone else's home (55%) or at work (33%) is most common.

C-store customers say that they purchase some type of food or beverage on about half of their c-store visits, indicating that while foodservice is an important category for these stores, opportunities for growth still exist; however, while location is key to getting consumers in the door, restaurants still have the upper hand when it comes to perceptions of high-quality food and dine-in ambiance.

Although c-stores are already recognized as locations that excel when it comes to offering fast service, look for them to increasingly add features, like drive-thru service and call-ahead ordering, to further expedite transactions and compete with quick-service restaurants, said Technomic. In order to encourage more lunch and dinner purchases and in-store dining, it is likely that c-stores will expand their seating areas in years to come and offer free Wi-Fi access, TV screens and updated decor to compete with restaurants. This suggests that restaurant operators will need to further define what makes their establishments unique (better food, better prices, etc.) and carve out their own niche. And more so than at restaurants, where food made from scratch is expected, c-stores may be able to boost foodservice sales by offering highly recognizable, name-brand prepared foods that consumers are already familiar with and perceive to be high in quality.

Another Technomic report, the 2010 Restaurants & Retail Report: Segmenting the Food & Beverage Consumer, said that consumers are sourcing their food across an increasingly broad range of retail and foodservice outlets. The report provides a snapshot of Americans' restaurant and food shopping patterns.

Retailers continue to move into the restaurant sphere even as restaurant companies extend their brands with retail product offerings. Many retailers are using the restaurant sector as a blueprint for innovation as they seek to keep value-conscious consumers coming through the doors.

"Restaurants consistently provide consumers with foods that respond to their changing preferences and ideas of value. Locally sourced ingredients, organic and additive-free foods and humanely sourced menu offerings have been growth areas," said Darren Tristano, executive vice president at Technomic. "In a down economy, retailers gained a larger share of the foodservice market, but in order to keep that as the economic picture improves, they need to respond to consumers as effectively as restaurants have."

Findings include:

• 18- to 34-year-olds are most likely, by a wide margin, to be heavy users of premium fast food. This could have significant implications for future competition between retailers and limited-service restaurants, particularly in the fast-casual segment.
• Heavy users of warehouse clubs, specialty/natural food stores and upscale supermarkets tend to source food from many types of retailers and restaurants.
• Men are more likely than women to be heavy food shoppers at convenience stores and warehouse clubs.

The 2010 Restaurants & Retail Report uses an exclusive Technomic survey of 2,000 U.S. consumers who were asked to report their usage and attitudes regarding restaurants and food retailers. The report also uncovers and analyzes current trends identified by Technomic's Retailer Meal Solutions (RMS) Monitor service and Digital Resource Library.

(Source: Convenience Store/Petroleum News, 10/14/10)

Economy Still Impacting Shoppers, but Glimmers of Holiday Hope Appear

Shoppers to Spend on More Discretionary Items, Non-Gift Purchases

Though Americans are still operating with the recession in the back of their minds and many have fundamentally changed their shopping habits, some findings from NRF's first holiday survey imply consumers won't only be focusing on low prices and basic necessities this year. According to NRF's 2010 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch, U.S. consumers plan to spend an average of $688.87 on holiday-related shopping, a slight rise from last year's $681.83.

As in years past, most holiday gift-givers will spend the largest portion of their budget buying gifts for family ($393.55) and friends ($71.45), though they'll still carve out room in their budget for small tokens of appreciation for both co-workers ($18.26) and others ($34.82). Total spending on gifts ($518.08) is expected to rise 2.1 percent from last year, which is in line with NRF's 2010 holiday forecast. Americans will also spend an average of $41.51 on decorations, $26.10 on greeting cards and postage, $86.32 on candy and food, and $16.86 on flowers.

"Consumers will still shop with the economy in the back of their minds, but we're starting to see shoppers take baby steps toward a new normal," said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. "As Americans open up their wallets for more discretionary gifts like jewelry or take advantage of sales to buy for themselves, retailers will begin to truly believe that the worst may be behind them."

According to the survey, 61.7 percent of shoppers say the economy will impact their spending, down from last year's 65.3 percent. Many shoppers say they will compensate by spending less (81.5%), comparison shopping online (30.9%) or with newspapers and circulars (28.1%), shopping for sales (54.1%) or using more coupons (40.6%). Although the economy continues to impact shoppers, a number of survey results indicate that shoppers may be ready to emerge from their shells this holiday season.

When asked which one factor will be most important when shopping this holiday season, the majority of shoppers said that sales or price discounts (41.8%) or everyday low prices (12.7%) were most important. While those factors either declined or remained flat this year, two other categories rose in importance. The number of people who counted customer service as the most important factor rose from 4.4 percent last year to 5.3 percent this year, while shoppers who touted quality as the overriding factor rose from 11.8 percent to 12.7 percent.

"Price is paramount during any recession, but when the economy begins to recover other factors take on greater importance," said Phil Rist, Executive Vice President, Strategic Initiatives, BIGresearch. "When shoppers consider other factors like customer service and quality in buying decisions, retailers have the ability to highlight a variety of other features to help their company stand out from the competition."

While many traditional categories like clothing (48.2%) and books (47.3%) will appear on a majority of wish lists this year, one item will appear more often than a year ago: jewelry. As a potential sign that discretionary gifts may become more popular, 23.0 percent of people will ask for jewelry this year, a significant 10 percent jump from last year’s 20.8 percent. Gift cards will remain the most requested holiday gift this year with 57.0 percent of people asking for plastic.

As another sign that shoppers feel a bit of breathing room in their budget, the number of people who say they will make a holiday purchase from a discounter dropped from 70.1 percent last year to 65.1 percent this year. Popular holiday shopping destinations will include department stores (54.5%), grocery stores (46.7%), the Internet (43.9%) and clothing stores (33.6%).

Americans aren't only shifting where they're shopping – how they're shopping is changing, too. Mobile devices like iPhones and Androids are becoming more popular among consumers, and many shoppers plan to use these devices this holiday season to look for gift ideas, compare prices and find items in nearby stores. According to the survey, over one-fourth of American adults with a smartphone (26.8%) will use these devices to research or make holiday purchases, and that number jumps to 45.0 percent among young adults 18-24. Retailers are expected to take advantage of this trend by offering more robust mobile apps and websites, along with enhanced features like mobile reviews, to cater to Americans looking to shop from their phones.

Yet another hopeful indicator: the number of people who plan to take advantage of holiday sales to make non-gift purchases for themselves will rise 8 percent this year (52.9% in '09 to 57.1% this year), with the average holiday shopper spending $107.50 on themselves, up from $101.37 last year.

Though the holiday season won't kick off for many retailers until at least November 1, a sizeable number of shoppers are already planning ahead. According to the survey, 37.2 percent of Americans will begin holiday shopping by Halloween. Women are the most likely to begin shopping by the end of October (42.1%) while young adults 18-24 are among the least likely (27.7%).

NRF continues to expect holiday sales to rise 2.3 percent to $447.1 billion.

(Source: National Retail Federation, 10/19/10)

Cherry Creek Radio is

Insurance Marketers Missing Opportunities

Study: Insurance Marketers Missing Opportunities

A study from the Chief Marketing Officer Council shows that insurance marketers are too focused on new acquisitions and are missing ways to grow business with existing customers.

For the most part, consumers are happy with their insurance experience, but 12% those surveyed say they resent not hearing from companies until it is time to pay the bill. The biggest communications oversight seems to be silence on the part of the insurance companies.

According to the findings of "What's Critical in the Insurance Vertical," more than 55% of consumers polled have held their existing insurance policies for more than five years and are open to receiving information from their trusted providers on new or complimentary services. And 21% of consumers purchased or increased the value of their existing policies after receiving communications, according to the study from the Palo Alto, Calif., group. However, only 7% of marketers in the insurance vertical value up-sell and cross-sell tactics as critical to route to revenue.

The report, sponsored by InfoPrint Solutions Co., reveals that insurance marketers could increase their business by executing data-driven, targeted retention marketing strategies. Yet many feel they must focus on acquisition strategies or servicing the needs of top-performing or strategic accounts.

Insurance marketers need to break the cycle of "data paralysis," according to Sandra Zoratti, vice president of global solutions marketing at InfoPrint Solutions Company and the author of the report.

"To me, there are two key findings which point to the fact that insurers are clearly not leveraging or maximizing value in their current customer base through data-driven cross-sell and up-sell opportunities which help drive incremental revenue, improved loyalty and increased customer lifetime value," Zoratti tells Marketing Daily. "Simultaneously, insurers continue to focus most of their marketing spend on new customer acquisition which is a more costly avenue to pursue, especially when their current customers are making it clear that they would buy more from their current insurer if asked."

For the report, more than 100 insurance marketers provided insights on how they market and sell insurance, while over 1,100 consumers provided feedback on their experiences shopping for insurance and selecting providers. The insurance industry's net premiums total more than $1 trillion annually. There are more than 2,700 property/ casualty insurers and more than 1,100 life/health insurers in the U.S., according to the Insurance Information Institute.

(Source: Marketing Daily, 09/27/10)

Time For The Holidays

Consumers Celebrating Practicality This Holiday Season

Consumers Maintaining Family Traditions and Entering Holiday Shopping Season Equipped with Lists and Frugal Strategies

This year, 49 percent of consumers are heading into the holiday shopping season concerned about the economy. This and related sentiments are affecting how, where and when shoppers make their gift, and holiday-celebration related food and beverage purchases.

New research, titled "SymphonyIRI Group Special Report: Holiday Shopping 2010," finds that 59 percent of consumers plan to spend less than $500 on holiday gifts this year, and 28 percent plan to purchase fewer gifts. The report goes on to explain that 25 percent of consumers will trim back spending on holiday celebration-related food and beverages. These findings point to a new holiday season that will continue to see practical and frugal shopper habits.

Despite this year's tight budgets, consumers still plan to maintain traditions by continuing their holiday celebrations and purchasing gifts for their friends and loved ones. For example, 60 percent of consumers indicate that they will purchase "very nice" gifts for their loved ones but do what they can to keep costs down, and two-thirds of consumers will work to pull off a fancy holiday celebration, but again, do what they can to keep costs down. Among all of these shoppers, however, spending will be conservative. In related findings:

• 2010 will see an increase in the number of consumers who plan to budget no more than $199 this year on gift shopping -- 23 percent, up 8 points from 2009 (15 percent) and 12 points from 2008 (11 percent).
• Twenty percent of consumers are going out less frequently and entertaining at home more often this holiday season versus "typical" years

"The bright spot here is that consumers do not plan to completely halt their spending despite a lack of confidence in the economy and concerns about their immediate financial futures," said Susan Viamari, editor, Times & Trends, SymphonyIRI. "Shoppers across all income brackets plan to shop at a variety of channels and will execute a combination of money saving tactics to complete their holiday gift and celebration purchases."

Tight Budgets Equal Strategic Shopping

Consumers are shopping in a deliberate, preplanned fashion in an effort to reduce expenditures on gifts and holiday celebration-related food and beverages. As with 2009, this year, consumers plan to enter stores with shopping lists in hand. Strong majorities of consumers will plan ahead and create gift and grocery lists with the same or increased frequency than they did last year.

In order to get the best deals on gifts and groceries, a large majority of consumers will also seek out deals prior to entering stores while also keeping an eye out for in-store promotions:

• When it comes to purchasing gifts, nearly three-quarters of consumers plan to compare products on the Internet as much or more than they did last year, while nearly half plan to take better advantage of in-store promotions and newspaper/circular coupons.
• Similarly, for holiday celebration-related food and beverages, three-quarters of shoppers will leverage Internet and e-mail coupons with the same or increased frequency, and just under half of shoppers plan to take better advantage of in-store promotions and newspaper/circular coupons.
• About one-third of survey respondents plan to stick to their shopping lists and avoid purchasing unplanned items during their gift and grocery shopping trips.

Consumers Spread the Love across Channels When Shopping for Food and Gifts

Mass merchandisers and supercenters, such as Walmart and Super Kmart, and online stores will be frequented most by shoppers making holiday gift purchases:

• Mass merchandisers and supercenters continue to attract shoppers from across income groups; mass merchandisers will be a bit more heavily shopped by lower-income households, while upper-income households will skew slightly toward supercenters.
• Online shopping will also be heavily leveraged across income segments this year, but skew slightly to wealthier shoppers ($55,000-$99,000 income range and $100,000 or more). Key drivers of Internet shopping are convenience, product information, selection and price.

Consumers are indicating a strong willingness to search for the best price for their holiday celebration-related food and beverage needs this year.

• Eighty-eight percent of shoppers will shop in mass merchandise and/or supercenter outlets this year, with each of these channels cited heavily by shoppers across income segments.
• Seventy percent of consumers will shop at grocery stores.
• One-third of shoppers, who fall mostly in higher-income brackets, plan to shop at club stores, including 38 percent of those in households earning $55,000-$99,000 and 47 percent of those from households earning $100,000 or more.
• Eighteen percent of consumers plan to shop dollar stores, with those in the lower-income brackets citing a slightly higher propensity to visit this channel (27 percent of those in households earning under $35,000).

With affordability top of mind, store brands will be assured a place at the holiday dinner table, as 80 percent of shoppers will purchase store brand solutions with the same or increased frequency this year versus last year. Shoppers are drawn to these products because they are less expensive (cited by 82 percent of respondents), the quality is about the same as nationally branded products (cited by 43 percent), and because promotions make store brand products more attractive (32 percent).

Holiday Shopping Season Kicks Off Earlier

In an effort to alleviate budgetary strain, this year's holiday shoppers are equipped with coping strategies adopted over the past couple of years. Nearly half of all shoppers surveyed plan to begin their holiday shopping before November, citing the desire to take better advantage of sales (46 percent), to ensure products are available (39 percent) and to spread spending out over time rather than making fewer larger purchases (39 percent).

Cash, Gift Cards and Functional Items Top Gift and Wish Lists

Not only are consumers planning to be mindful about how much, where and when to spend their holiday shopping dollars, they are also indicating that they will strive to be practical when it comes to selecting gifts -- perhaps a sign of the times where necessity trumps luxury.

This year, "what gift seekers want" and "what gift givers plan to give" are in sync, as gift givers and recipients have practicality top of mind. Cash and gift cards top both lists this year with functional items coming in a close second:

• Fifty percent of those surveyed would like to receive a gift card as a present and 66 percent plan to give gift cards this holiday season. Twenty-three percent of respondents plan to increase the amount of cash or gift cards they plan to give this holiday compared to 2009.
• Sixteen percent of respondents would like to receive clothing, and 8 percent would like to receive books as a present. Luckily for these gift seekers, 49 percent of shoppers plan to purchase functional items, such as clothes, books and items for the home. In fact, 24 percent of respondents intend to purchase more functional items this year versus what they purchased in 2009, according to those surveyed.

Cash Is King When Paying for Goods

Twenty-five percent of consumers intend to use their credit cards less this holiday season, instead opting to increase use of cash (20 percent of respondents) and debit cards (18 percent), as more consumers look to minimize debt. Across all income groups, cash is the preferred method of payment. Across all households earning less than $100,000, one-quarter of respondents indicate that they will use credit cards less when paying for their holiday goods.

"The economy continues to transform, and with that, consumers are evolving," said John McIndoe, senior vice president, Marketing, SymphonyIRI. "As a result, today's retail environment is even more complex than we have seen historically. Through comprehensive and ongoing surveys, such as this newly released Holiday Shopping 2010 survey, SymphonyIRI is providing insightful information that reveals opportunities for CPG manufacturers and retailers to serve and satisfy consumers and secure ongoing shopper loyalty."

(Source: SymphonyIRI Group, 10/04/10)