Food and beverage leads self gifting, survey finds

Dive Brief:

This holiday season, 43% of consumers plan to purchase a food and beverage item for themselves — topping all other retail categories, according to a survey of 4,410 U.S. consumers from Deloitte.
One-quarter of consumers plan to do some holiday shopping at a supermarket this year, which is a 14% increase from 2014. Shoppers surveyed expect to spend 59% of their holiday budget online versus 36% in-store.
Overall, each household surveyed expects to spend roughly $1,496 per household for the holidays, with the majority of this spending allocated to experiences and celebrations, including in-home festivities.

Dive Insight:

Grocers may not be a primary gift destination for holiday shoppers, but they can certainly help busy shoppers treat themselves. As a leading self-gifting destination, food retailers should be considering omnichannel displays and promotions that spotlight indulgent products.

Eighty-one percent of consumers surveyed by Deloitte reporting that they will be influenced in some way by a store’s holiday deals. Considering more than half of those surveyed plan to do their shopping online this holiday season, free shipping promotions will be an important factor for retailers to consider. Deloitte notes shoppers surveyed prefer free shipping over fast shipping.

Three-quarters of Deloitte’s survey respondents described price being an important part of their holiday shopping decisions, but 85% described quality and variety as their top concern. During the holidays, shoppers appear more willing to splurge on higher-quality items — so grocers will want to have plenty of premium meats, chocolates, pantry items and surprising finds in stock.

High spenders account for 20% of holiday shoppers, which are households spending $2,000 or more, but they will make up an estimated 60% of total holiday spending. Shoppers in this category tend to be older, according to the survey, and more likely to use technology to handle their holiday shopping, with 62% planning on using their smartphones compared to the rest of the population.

Grocery retailers with mobile apps may do well to offer specific holiday promotions on the platform or to advertise holiday promotions through this channel to catch users’ attention. Close to 18 million U.S. consumers used a grocery app at least once a month last year, according to eMarketer.