Dive Brief:

• Women’s intended spending this holiday season is flat compared to last year’s, according to a survey from daVinci Payments. Forty-three percent of respondents said they plan to spend the same as last year this holiday season.

• Nearly half of the survey’s 675 respondents intend to make more than 50% of their holiday purchases online. Forty-five percent make half or more of their online purchases from their phones.

• A majority of respondents will do at least some of their holiday shopping during Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend, with 46% saying they’ll do a quarter or more of their shopping then, and 21% saying they’ll do half or more of their shopping then.

Dive Insight:

According to a Bloomberg report from last year, women drive 70% to 80% of household purchasing decisions, making it essential for retailers to be ready to meet their needs during the busy holiday season. And while other holiday surveys have highlighted a variety of factors on shoppers' minds as they make their gift lists, daVinci's research gets down to what drives so much of holiday shopping: giving the customer the product they want at the best price. Ninety-two percent of women surveyed said price is the top factor when making a purchase, followed by quality (90%). Availability and selection came in third at 71%. 

Rebates and loyalty rewards are another factor driving this key demographic. The survey found that shoppers would prefer to get a more significant rebate instead of a smaller instant discount on their purchases. Beyond rebates, shoppers prefer rewards in the form of points to redeem for free product (41%), discounts on their next purchase (27%), prepaid rewards for use anywhere (26%), and special offers with a limited time window (6%). It’s worth noting that daVinci Payments, formerly known as Swift Prepaid Solutions, offers prepaid cards. 

The portion of shoppers heading online to do their holiday shopping matches other results from this season. PwC’s 2019 Holiday Outlook found that 54% of respondents plan to shop online during the holidays. But those going to physical stores aren’t abandoning digital shopping altogether. Shopkick found that 84% of shoppers will use mobile devices to research holiday purchases, make price comparisons and read reviews.