Washington–Consumers may be likely to spend more this holiday season than originally predicted, according to the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) Consumer Holiday Outlook survey. The survey concludes that consumers plan to spend an average of $940 per household this holiday season on gifts for family and friends, decorations, greeting cards, and food.
The survey of 1,000 respondents, which was conducted Oct. 19-21, also found that 65.6% of consumers plan to take advantage of sales or price discounts during the holiday season to make additional non-gift purchases for themselves or for their household. The majority (57%) of consumers plan to start their holiday shopping in November or the first two weeks in December. And 30% of respondents say they had already started their holiday shopping before September, or during September or October.
While an average of 72% of respondents plan to shop at traditional departments stores, discount department stores, and specialty retailers, 60% plan to shop by mail order, catalog, or Internet this year. Catalogs and mail-order appear to be the most popular method, with 37% of respondents planning to do their holiday shopping this way. What’s more, women are more likely than men to shop by catalog or mail-order, with 42% planning to do so this year.