Consumers Say 21% Of Holiday Shopping To Be On Home Decor

Furniture World Magazine

Despite a less than stellar economy, consumers indicated that they intended to spend more this year than they did last year. An on-going psychographic trend Brand Keys has observed is that while consumers are willing to spend a bit more, they still want to be perceived as "wise shoppers." "They'll spend money, but they want it spent well, and will spend time searching for the best deals, most of which will be done online," said Robert Passikoff, president, Brand Keys. Q. Do you think you'll spend more, less, or the same this holiday season as you did last year? 2004 percent Change From 2003 More 8% (- 2%) Same 67% (+ 5%) Less 25% (- 3%) How Much Will They Spend? On average, about $760.00, or about 7 percent more than last year (but down 2 percent from the 9 percent increase in 2003). Where Will They Spend Their Money? As might be expected, consumers have indicated that they will use the full range of retail formats and channels. However, only one of these channels reflects a substantial percent-change over last year. More shoppers say they'll go online to shop this holiday season, pushing "On-Line" into the mainstream. 2004 percent Change From 2003 Discount Department Stores 75% (+ 5%) Traditional Department Stores 55% (+ 3%) Online 60% (+ 10%) Catalogue 45% (+ 4%) Specialty Stores 38% (- 2%) This trend is confirmed by increased holiday online sales. To What Degree? An increase of 30 percent over last year, or $26.5 billion. Holiday USA Online Retail Sales Trends (in billions of dollars) 4Q '04 3Q '04 26.52 20.41 On What Will All This Money Be Spent? Just what might be expected, and similar to last years' declared purchases. There is, however a slight "bump" in the electronics/computers/mobile phone category, up 3 percent from last year and gift cards, up 4 percent from 2003. What is new is a significant number of consumers indicating that they will travel/purchase trips as holiday gifts, at 10 percent, the first time this "gift" has shown up in the survey. Clothing & Accessories 51% Electronics/Computers/Phones 48% Gift Cards 45% CDs/DVDs/Video Games 33% Books 30% Home Décor 21% Travel 10% Which Channels and Brands Will Benefit Most? Customer loyalty assessments are the best leading-indicator of profitability. The following 5 categories are tracked in the Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Index survey and reflect the ranking of brands and channels (according to their customer loyalty assessments) that will be the beneficiaries of the identified 2004 holiday trends. Search for Products/Deals Online Retailers 1. Google.com 1. Amazon.com 2. Yahoo.com 2. BN.com 3. MSN.com 3. CDnow 4. AOL.com 4. Buy.com 5. Excite.com Discount Stores Clothing Catalogues 1. Wal-Mart 1. L.L. Bean 2. Sears 2. Sears 3. Target 3. J. Crew/Macy's 4. Kmart 4. Lands' End 5. JC Penney 5. Nordstrom On-Line Travel Sites 1. Expedia.com 2. CheapTickets.com 3. Travelocity.com 4. Fodors.com 5. Priceline.com Twice a year, as one of its leading-indicator measurement tools, Brand Keys, a New York City-based brand and customer loyalty research consultancy, conducts its Customer Loyalty Index. In the most recent wave of research, 16,000 interviews, in the nine US census regions, were conducted with adult consumers regarding 32 industry categories (from airlines to computers, websites to coffee shops) and 202 specific brands within these categories. In addition to specific category and brand loyalty evaluations, consumers are asked about a variety of timely market and brand issues. This included anticipated behavior in the 2004 holiday marketplace. For more information regarding the categories assessed by Brand Keys, visit www.brandkeys.com.