Holiday Shopping: ‘A Good Time for Careful Consumers’

Three out of ten Americans will complete their holiday shopping before Thanksgiving, which will fall on one of the last days of November and leave only 23 days in the traditional Christmas shopping season.

According to Eric Karson, Associate Professor of Marketing at Villanova University, overall retail will get a three to five percent lift during the holiday shopping season, which has already begun.

“Even before Halloween, I think we started seeing some layaway advertisements,” he said. And Black Friday advertising has begun.

“Retailers want people to start shopping,” Karson said. “There are segments of the market. On one end people like me hate shopping with a passion, but there are people who can’t wait to go to King of Prussia on Black Friday. They love the crush of people, the atmosphere… The retailers’ job is to make every segment happy.”

Who’s ‘spending like gangbusters’?

Online sales are expected to increase by double digits over the same time last year—a trend that has continually increased for a decade, he said. 

“There’s a significant part of the American population that has struggled for some time, but it’s still a holiday for them. As we look at other areas of the economy, the stock market keeps setting records, money is cheap and people are spending,” Karson told Patch. “The upper income segment continues to spend like gangbusters.”

According to Karson, consumers with incomes above $100,000 will spend $771 dollars in gifts; those who make under $100,000 are expected to spend $319, according to studies.

‘Thanksgivukkah’ and a Shorter Season

What is being called “Thanksgivukkah” is the once-in-a-lifetime convergence of Thanksgiving and the first day of Hanukkah falling on the same day.

“Jewish people who may not spend as much holiday wise as Christian brethren, their shopping is going to be done by Thanksgiving,” Karson said.

“Hanukkah is not quite as much a commercial gift-giving extravaganza as the holidays have become in some Christmas-oriented households,” he said.

Although there are fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas, Karson said the economic impact is “such a stupid conversation.” 

“Do you know anyone who says ‘There are fewer shopping days this year, I’m going to spend less’?” he said.

Karson said he looked at statistics back to 2000, comparing retail sales versus the number of shopping days, and there is no statistical correlation. 

The only impact, he said, is that retailers are more aggressive with their promotions and start them sooner.

The ‘Showrooming Effect’

Showrooming is when consumers go to stores to physically check out items, but then order them online. But retailers are not really afraid of that trend, reports the Wall Street Journal.

And Karson agrees. “It’s not hurting them in a major way. The trick is to get people into the store. Price matching insulates the retailers from that.” 

“Retailers have gotten more careful in the amount of inventory they will carry and are being a lot more aggressive in selling things by the holidays,” he said. “It’s a good time for careful consumers.”