| Where Consumers Plan to Shop for the Holidays | |
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Data:
Deloitte & Touche, Consumer and Retailer Mood Survey: Retail Holiday
Outlook
Graph: Melody Vargas |
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Consumers,
Retailers Optimistic about Sales |
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| Related Links |
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Consumer
and Retailer Mood Survey: Retail Holiday Outlook |
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| More Holiday 2000 |
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More
Sales Predictions |
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Poll Question |
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| Is Your Store Ready for the Holiday Rush? | |
Discount Department Stores Continue to Gain Share
It's getting to be an old story – one that has continued for nearly a decade of Mood Survey results. The discount department stores such as Wal-Mart and Kmart are continuing to increase in popularity among shoppers young and old, on the East Coast and West, the affluent and less so, and males and females.
Currently, a record 83% of shoppers say they will spend at least some of their gift-buying time at the discounters. Even three-quarters of households with income of $75,000 or greater plan to visit their local discount department store. In 1993, only 57% of all households planned to shop at a discount store.
Catalogs have also risen in popularity, although the latest results suggest the Internet may be cutting into some of their appeal. In 2000, 38% of shoppers expect to spend some time perusing catalogs for gift ideas. Last year, the share was a record 42%. In 1993, only 19% of shoppers were flipping through catalog pages.
The Ideal Gift: A Computer-Game-Playing Barbie on a Razor Scooter
Consumers expect to buy on average 25 presents this year, a number that has remained basically unchanged over the last three years. The top three gift categories have remained the same for virtually the entire decade: apparel, toys and entertainment-related items such as CDs or movie videos.
There was no one mega-hit gift for children this year, although there were some strong contenders. Computer games received the top mention, followed by the perennial favorite, Barbie, and the new Razor scooters. Pokemon, the big toy winner from 1999, again made a strong showing in this year's list. Bikes and music-related items were also in demand. Harry Potter books and toys are also likely to be big sellers this year.
Among teens, money and music items were neck-and-neck for top billing. Clothing was also popular, as were computer games. A few lucky teens will also be receiving cars as presents.
About This Survey
The Mood Survey, which is designed to measure consumer and retailer
expectations about the holidays, is conducted by Deloitte & Touche in association
with the National Retail Federation in the fall of every year. The consumer
survey has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points. In
addition, a retailer poll was conducted from a broad sampling of executives
from large and small retailers in general merchandise, apparel, home furnishings
and other retail categories for this report.
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