MEDIA ALERT: RichRelevance Releases 3rd Annual Survey on Holiday Shopping Attitudes & Preferences

20 Sep 2016, 00:00 AM EDT

New study of 1,000+ US shoppers reveals changing consumer sentiment
around Christmas Creep, Thanksgiving store hours, Black Friday & special
deals

SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–With more than $626 billion in holiday sales at stake, retailers are
changing the way they sell during the holiday season – for example,
stocking the shelves with holiday merchandise in early Fall and opening
their doors on Thanksgiving Day. But these practices raise key questions
about what shoppers want, what rubs them the wrong way, how traditional
shopping days like Black Friday are evolving, and what retailers like
REI gain (or lose) when they reject the trend.

Released today, RichRelevance’s third-annual Holiday Shopping Survey
drills into consumer attitudes and preferences around holiday marketing
and merchandising to provide new insight into what shoppers want – and
when – from omnichannel retail. Key findings include:

Retailers are gaining ground in the Christmas
Creep game

Although most Americans are still irritated to see holiday items appear
in the store alongside Halloween goodies, attitudes are changing.

Six out of 10 Americans (63%) are annoyed or very annoyed when holiday
items appear in the store before Halloween – down from 71% in 2014.
Over half of Americans surveyed (55%) are annoyed or very annoyed when
stores open on Thanksgiving Day – down from 65% in 2014.
Many Americans are shopping early: more than 1 in 4 Americans (27%)
had already started their holiday shopping by Labor Day.

Goodwill can be gained by bucking the Christmas
Creep trend

REI made news last year when it closed stores on both Thanksgiving Day
and Black Friday. Other retailers such as Nordstrom, Dillard’s and H&M
made a point of remaining closed on Thanksgiving. When asked about these
practices:

7 in 10 Americans (73%) said these retailers’ decisions made them like
the retailers more.
Over half (53%) said they are more likely to shop with retailers who
remain closed on Thanksgiving Day.
A comparable amount (48%) stated they are more likely to shop with REI
as a result of their decision.

Black Friday is losing ground

Black Friday has traditionally marked the beginning of the holiday
shopping season, but consumer sentiments and shopping patterns are
changing.

Only 1 in 10 (11%) Americans feel Black Friday has grown in
importance, while 4 in 10 (42%) state Black Friday is less important
than it was 5 years ago.
6 out of 10 Americans (58%) state that special deals on Black Friday
and Cyber Monday do not impact their shopping behavior.
However, Cyber Monday is gaining ground with 1 in 3 (33%) of Americans
saying Cyber Monday is more important than it was 5 years ago.

Millennials are a bright spot for retailers

The coveted Millennial shopper (age 18- 29) behaves differently than
other generations.

Younger Millennial shoppers are more tolerant of Christmas Creep.
Early holiday merchandise only bothers half of these shoppers (51% vs.
63% of overall respondents).
Millennials are also more responsive to deals. 6 out of 10 (60%) say
that special deals on Black Friday and Cyber Monday encourage them to
shop.
This digital generation loves Cyber Monday: more than half (52%) think
it is more important than it was 5 years ago.

Methodology

This is the third-annual Holiday Shopping survey conducted by
RichRelevance to understand consumer shopping patterns and behaviors.
The survey of 1,054 U.S. shoppers was conducted in August 2016.
Responses were gathered online over a 2-week period.

About RichRelevance

RichRelevance is the global leader in omnichannel personalization and is
used by more than 230 multinational companies to deliver the most
relevant and innovative customer experiences across web, mobile and in
store. RichRelevance drives more than one billion decisions every day,
and has generated over $20 billion in sales for its clients, which
include Office Depot, Costco, Darty, and Marks & Spencer.

Headquartered in San Francisco, RichRelevance serves clients in 42
countries from 9 offices around the globe. For more information, please
visit www.richrelevance.com.

Contacts

BPR for RichRelevance
Renee Newby, 757-651-6554
renee@bradypr.com