Already eyeing hot toys, fashions and exclusive products, more consumers in the United States are beginning to make a dent in their holiday shopping lists, the National Retail Federation (NRF) said on Tuesday.
About 52.8 percent of Americans have already started their holiday shopping, up from 51.4 percent in the same period last year, according to NRF's holiday consumer spending survey conducted during
November 1-6 on 9,383 consumers.
With plans to spend slightly more than last year, consumers usually will stock up on plenty of discretionary gifts, with
clothing and clothing accessories being the most popular choice this
year. Nearly 59.7 percent of consumers will buy fashion and apparel
items and other accessories, while about 31.7 percent of shoppers
will spend on electronic products, said the survey.
The survey also found consumers much prefer to use money they
already have or have saved up to purchase holiday gifts. More than
four in 10 will rely on debit cards as their primary method of
payment. An additional 25.2 percent will use cash and 2.8 percent
will use a check.
"In order to win over savvy shoppers this year, retailers are
well aware that their deals have to stand out, and it looks like
there's plenty of people eager to get their hands on the exclusive
promotions we are already seeing," said NRF President and CEO
Matthew Shay.
U.S. holiday sales this year would increase to $586.1 billion, up 4.1 percent from the previous year, according to the
forecast by NRF last month. The estimated growth was higher than the
10-year average holiday sales increase of 3.5 percent.
Supported by boosted consumer confidence, U.S. retailing giants,
including Macy's and Target, have reported strong third-quarter
sales, indicating they are well prepared to seize massive
opportunities from the upcoming holiday season from November to
December. This period is traditionally the hottest shopping season
in America.
