…End of Traditional Shopping Season
The global survey* of more than 13,000 adult respondents
found that while rising vaccination rates have eased restrictions in many
places, many people are still carefully considering the safety of socializing,
shopping, and traveling, with many global respondents continuing to make
choices from a place of caution.
Almost three in four respondents said they’re concerned
about new variants of COVID-19, three in five said they’re concerned about
interacting with unvaccinated people outside of their families and more than
half of those surveyed said they are worried about spending time with
unvaccinated family and friends. Holiday shopping budgets are still 13% lower
than they were in 2019; however, they did increase 30% year-over-year, and 87%
of surveyed consumers say they may shop for the holidays this year, up six
points compared to 2020.
“The most effective industry leaders may be the ones who can
meet the customer where, when and how they want,” said Jonathan Wright,
Managing Partner & Global VP for Supply Chain Consulting, IBM Consulting.
“Based on the survey findings, consumer respondents may continue to demand
safety requirements for in-person activities, as well as modern-day fulfillment
models such as contactless pick-up, same-day delivery; ship-from-store; buy
online, pick up in-store, etc. Deploying artificial intelligence, intelligent
automation and analytics across an enterprise can build a more adaptable
business that can rapidly respond, pivot, and scale up or down, which may be a
pivotal enabler when it comes to this holiday shopping season.”
Noteworthy survey findings include:
An Earlier Start to the Holiday Shopping Season
Holiday shoppers are concerned about shortages, so to
increase their chance of getting everything on their wish lists, more than one
in four surveyed adults started shopping in September or earlier. Twice as many
people surveyed plan to start in October as compared to last year and just
under half of consumers surveyed plan to jumpstart holiday shopping before
November, weeks earlier than the traditional “Black Friday” start date in the
US.
Online Shopping Still Reigns
While there is notable demand for local products and
merchants, online shopping is likely to hold on to its leadership position this
holiday season for those surveyed. This statistic is noteworthy when compared
to February 2021 IBV data which found that 73% of surveyed shoppers wanted and
expected to return to shopping malls and shopping centers after they were
vaccinated. Instead, 43% of consumers surveyed say they plan to buy products
online and just 36% surveyed say they plan to buy products in a physical store,
citing the increasing concern about new COVID-19 outbreaks and variants.
Holiday Travel & Experiences/Activities could be on the
Rebound for 2021
According to the survey, travel is predicted to account for
a larger portion of the holiday budgets overall for those surveyed, rising to
8.2% from 5.7% in 2020. Though still lower than it was in 2019, almost 40% of
respondents said they plan to travel to see family and friends over the
holidays, up from 28% last year. Travel budgets are also on the rebound, up 43%
over 2020, with international lodging and air travel budgets growing more than
domestic air travel and lodging budgets for those surveyed. Local outings and
activities, as well as dining out, may see the biggest lift in 2021 with
consumers surveyed planning to spend 30% more in this area than they did last
year.
Consumers Still Care About Sustainability
Environmentally friendly products may also have a leg up
this holiday season. Four in five consumers surveyed say they may consider
sustainability to some extent when they’re shopping for the holidays this year,
which is consistent with last year’s survey results. This group plans to change
their behavior by avoiding single-use plastics, shopping locally and buying
more products locally or made locally.
IBV Study Methodology
The IBM Institute for Business Value polled more than 13,000 adults across nine countries (Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Mexico, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States), to better understand consumers’ COVID-19 pandemic-related concerns and the impact on how people plan to celebrate the holiday season - how it may affect their perspectives on a number of issues, including retail spending, traveling and future event attendance.
The full study is available at: https://www.ibm.com/thought-leadership/institute-business-value/report/2021-holiday-shopping-travel-outlook.
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