Accenture: 2022 Holiday Shopping Survey

Results from Accenture’s 16th annual Holiday Shopping Survey show that the majority (84%) of the 1,500 U.S. consumers surveyed are looking forward to the holidays. Just over half (53%) are looking forward to spending time with loved ones this holiday season and looking forward to healing themselves and others (39%).

“Organized Consumers”

Thirty-five percent of consumers said they will try to stick to their holiday budget, and 45% will shop at different times this year to seek the lowest prices.

The survey also showed that many "organized consumers" got off their holiday shopping lists early, with 45% of respondents saying they had already started shopping in August. In early 2022, 16% of respondents bought some items to take advantage of sales and discounts after last year's holidays.

Winning consumers’ wallets

An Accenture survey of 150 U.S. retail executives found that retailers are taking steps to win consumer spending. Almost all executives said that increasing promotions (99%) and availability (98%) are part of their company's plans for the quarter. In addition, 37% of respondents said their companies are stockpiling goods to ensure supply. The same number of respondents (35%) said their companies are taking special measures or deeply discounting to sell excess inventory, and 32% are re-optimizing pricing and promotions.

Spread holiday cheer to others

As in previous years, gift cards will be the most popular gift this holiday season, with 72% of consumers planning to spend the same or more on gift cards than last year. More than half of consumers (54%) plan to spend the same or more on ingredients or materials to make homemade gifts this holiday shopping season compared to last year.

68% of consumers say that services such as in-store restaurants or beauty salons would attract them to shop at a particular retail store, and this is especially true for Millennials (88%).

Another thing that would appeal to consumers is having a dedicated in-store area for receiving online orders, which was mentioned by 68% of consumers and 90% of millennials.