Economic conditions impacting Christmas spending for over 60% of consumers

Nearly half of UK respondents plan to spend less than they did in 2021, while 15% say they won’t shop at all this Christmas season

Fluent Commerce, a leading provider of a cloud-native distributed Order Management System, today released the findings of its annual ‘Top Holiday Shopper Trends’ consumer spending research, revealing that current economic conditions are impacting the spending plans of over 60% of shoppers.

The research, carried out among 1,000 adult consumers in the UK, tracks spending behaviours and intentions ahead of the holiday season. Among the headline findings, 15% of respondents say they are not going to plan seasonal shopping at all, up from 8% in 2021. In addition, 36% will spend about the same as last year but nearly half will spend less – that is a larger decrease in spend than in 2021.

Nearly half (44%) of consumers say they plan a mix of online and in-store shopping, while 12% will shop purely in store, same as the previous year. When choosing to spend with one retailer over another, free delivery is important to over three quarters (79%) of online shoppers, with next day delivery ‘very important’ to two thirds (65%) of all respondents.

Looking at product availability, most consumers (68%) said it would damage their view of a brand or store if an item they went to purchase wasn’t in stock having been informed online that it was. Unsurprisingly, three quarters said if a product was sold out, they would go to a competitor site.

Additional research findings include:

• If an online order is delayed 43% say it is likely they won’t shop with that retailer in future.

• If an item is out of stock when shopping in a store, 70% said they would purchase the item if a member of staff could find it in another location and get it to them.

• Returns to a physical store were important even if something was ordered online. 68% confirmed that point.

“Because of the understandable degree of spending caution among the majority of holiday season shoppers, retailers need to raise their game and adapt quickly if they are to maximise margins on every sale at this time of year,” commented Nicola Kinsella, SVP of global marketing at Fluent Commerce. “Keeping up to date with consumer preferences and shopping trends is vital, but we know many retailers struggle to give shoppers the kind of experience that determines both engagement and loyalty. As the data reveals, failing to take control of their inventory accuracy will simply mean today’s savvy shoppers will go elsewhere. And changes are they won’t come back”

To download a copy of the Fluent Commerce ‘Top Holiday Shopper Trends 2022’ report, click here.