Tri-State Area Consumers 'Store Hop' to Find Deals This Holiday Season

NEW YORK, Nov. 23, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Shoppers in the Tri-State area are expecting to "store hop" and shop at many venues in search of value and deals this holiday season, according to Deloitte's 25th Annual Holiday Survey of retail spending and trends. Discount department stores are the most popular retail venue for Tri-State survey respondents (45 percent), but the venue is not as popular as with the national average (58 percent).

More than one-third (37 percent) of shoppers in the Tri-State area plan to shop on the Internet, the second most popular destination. Shoppers in the Tri-State area expect to visit traditional department stores (34 percent, ranked the third most popular destination) more frequently than their national counterparts (23 percent, ranked the fourth most popular destination nationally). Consistent with the national average, shoppers also expect to frequent toy stores (31 percent), technology stores (23 percent), off-price stores (23 percent) and outlet stores (23 percent).

Shoppers in the Tri-State area also plan to access the Internet and use their smartphones before reaching for their wallets while holiday shopping.  More than three-quarters (76 percent) indicate that online research will influence their holiday purchases. In addition, nearly one out of four shoppers (23 percent) plan to use their smartphones in the holiday shopping process to check and compare prices, retrieve store locations, obtain product information, shop and browse online or read product reviews, compared to 17 percent nationally.  A total of 12 percent of consumers will turn to social networks for information such as gift ideas and coupons, discounts and sales, product review, or to post comments and share links on stores and sales this holiday season.  

"Shoppers in the Tri-State area have the benefit of living in close proximity to a variety of shopping alternatives, and will use this convenience to their advantage comparing deals, prices and product availability," said Joe Welter, partner, Deloitte & Touche LLP, and northeast regional leader for Deloitte's consumer business practice. "Paired with retailer information and discounts available via the internet, social media and mobile phones, consumers are empowered more than ever to make their gift decisions this holiday season."

Additional findings from the survey include:

• Gift Spending In the Tri-State Area. Shoppers in the Tri-State area are expecting to spend 35 percent ($565) of their total holiday spending on gifts, compared to the national average of shoppers expecting to spend 40 percent ($466) of their total holiday spending on gifts. Shoppers in the Tri-State area expect to purchase an average of 16.1 gifts this holiday season, compared to the national average of 16.8 gifts.

• Gift Certificates/Cards and Clothing are Top Gifts: Gift certificates/cards and clothing are tied for the top choice for shoppers in 2010, with 53 percent of consumers in the Tri-State area planning to buy them as presents. Consumers in the Tri-State area plan on purchasing an average of 4.7 gift cards, compared to the national average of five gift cards. However, Tri-State area consumers' planned spending per card ($44) is much more than the national average ($31). Money came in second place with 32 percent of consumers in the Tri-State area, followed by toys and games (31 percent) and CDs and DVDs (30 percent). Approximately 44 percent of Tri-State area consumers prefer to receive gift cards rather than merchandise.  

• Holiday Spending Focused on Non-Gift Items:  Tri-State area consumers' total anticipated holiday spend is $1,593, compared to the national average of $1,160.   Spending on the non-gift items, such as home and holiday furnishings, non-gift clothing, social events outside the home and entertaining at home (65 percent of total holiday spending) is more than the national average (60 percent of total holiday spending).  

"The pursuit of this year's top gifts– gift cards, clothing and money, paired with the spending on non-gift clothing for the family and home/holiday furnishings, may indicate that consumers in the Tri-State area are focused on replenishing their necessities and providing a happy holiday season for their families," said Welter.

Findings related to the economy and consumers' shopping intentions include:

• The Economy and the Conflicted Consumer: Roughly 63 percent of consumers in the Tri-State area plan on spending the same or more money this year on the holidays.  More than two thirds (68 percent) of consumers in the Tri-State area indicate their financial situation is the same or better compared to last year at this time. However, consumers hold a conservative outlook on the U.S. economy, with only 41 percent of those surveyed in the Tri-State area expecting the economy to improve next year.

• Changing the Way To Shop: Continuing in their search for value, 72 percent of Tri-State consumers say they will likely change the way they shop during the holiday season in an effort to save money. Ways that they will likely change include:  buying more items on sale (71 percent), using more store coupons (54 percent), buying more lower-priced items (48 percent), looking for "free shipping" offers (48 percent) and likely spend less on myself (47 percent).

About the Survey

The survey was commissioned by Deloitte and conducted online by an independent research company between September 23 and October 10, 2010. The survey polled a sample of 12,418 consumers nationally with a Tri-State sample size of 582. The national survey has a margin of error for the entire sample of plus or minus one percentage point.

For more information about Deloitte's Annual Holiday Survey, including interesting statistics, historical data and useful links, please visit www.deloitte.com/us/2010HolidaySurvey.

As used in this document, "Deloitte" means Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries. Please see www.deloitte.com/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries.

SOURCE Deloitte