Dive Brief:
- Seventy-six percent of U.S. consumers said they would buy at least half of their holiday purchases online, according to a Bain & Company survey of consumers in the U.S., the U.K., Germany, Australia and other countries released Oct. 17.
- Nearly a third (31%) of consumers said they don’t have enough money for non-essential purchases this holiday season, down from 39% last year, the survey found.
- Around a quarter (23%) of U.S. shoppers say they have purchased from international apps like Shein or Temu, but 19% plan to use international apps for holiday shopping.
Dive Insight:
Bain & Company’s research also suggests that many consumers will start shopping for their holiday purchases in the coming weeks. While 10% of U.S. shoppers began shopping in October and 16% are starting their in December, more than half (55%) of U.S. shoppers will start shopping in November, according to the survey.
In addition to Bain & Company’s findings, research from Experian noted many shoppers are heading to physical stores this holiday season. Nearly half (47%) of the 1,000 consumers surveyed by Experian said they will shop in brick-and-mortar retailers. Baby boomers are the most likely generation to shop in stores, followed by Gen Xers, millennials and Gen Zers.
As consumers split up their holiday shopping between online and offline shopping, overall retail sales are expected to rise this year, particularly. Thanksgiving weekend. Another report from Bain & Company projects that Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales will increase 5% compared to last year to $75 billion “for the first time ever.” Meanwhile, the National Retail Federation forecasts that retail sales will grow between 2.5% and 3.5% year over year to reach between $979.5 billion to $989 billion in November to December.
Though some consumers plan to shop via Temu and Shein for the season, other research has found that trust may be an issue when purchasing. A survey from the marketing software firm Omnisend found that 86% of shoppers trust Amazon, but only 6% said the same for Temu. Similarly, only 6.4% of respondents worldwide said they trust Temu more than Amazon, but nearly half (48%) have bought items via Temu at least once in the past year.
