Consumers spent more this season and half used the web, survey finds
More than a third of holiday shoppers spent more this season than last year, and 53% of them reported shopping on the Internet. Those findings, from a survey by KPMG LLP, also determined that Internet shopping included all age groups up to 65.
“The Internet continued to attract the most desirable customer, as the higher the income the more likelihood to buy on the Internet,” says John Rittenhouse, national partner in charge of KPMG’s Operations Risk Management practice. “For instance, people with incomes over $75,000 were twice as likely to use the Internet compared with people with incomes under $30,000.”
Survey results showed growth from last year in the use of the Internet for holiday shopping in the higher-income group, with 7% of those having household incomes of $50,000 to $75,000 reporting that they`d bought gifts online, versus 5% who reported doing so last year. In addition, use of the Internet for holiday shopping this year grew to 10% among men survyed, versus 5% last year. By contrast, the number of women who reported using the web for holiday shopping dropped to 4% this year from 5% last year, according to survey data.
In other findings, KPMG determined that price and selection drove 40% of those surveyed to buy from a store other than those where they normally shop. The 18-34 age group was most likely to make such a change, and half of those who shopped in a different store said selection was their primary motivator for the change. Only 2% said a store’s staff influenced their choice of where to shop.
“Respondents were less influenced by customer service or the physical store facility,” says Rittenhouse. “Traditionally, retailers invest heavily in these area to differentiate themselves.”
Overall, about 39% of those surveyed said they spent the same on the holidays this year as last year, while 26% said they spent less. The greatest motivators for purchase overall were price, cited by 32% of those surveyed; selection, cited by 27%; and convenience, 22%.
The findings were based on a survey of 840 random households from Dec. 10 to Dec. 21.
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