Deloitte’s annual holiday shopping survey finds that shoppers plan to spend more on experiences and non-gift items like decor and party apparel. Other 2024 holiday trends include an increase in October shopping, less loyalty and trading down.
Shoppers are planning to increase their holiday related spending 8% this year, according to consulting firm Deloitte’s annual holiday survey of more than 4,100 U.S. consumers in September 2024.
Deloitte finds that shoppers plan to spend the following amount by category:
- Experience – a 16% year-over-year increase to $735
- Non-gifts – a 9% year-over-year increase to $507
- Gifts – a 3% year-over-year decrease to $536
Non-gift purchases include clothing for family, home furnishings and holiday decorations. Experiences include entertainment at home, restaurants and concert tickets. Plus, participation in experiences is near pre-pandemic levels, at 83% this year compared with 86% in 2019. During the pandemic, 72% of consumers participated in holiday experiences.
One in four consumers plan to host a holiday gathering, invite an average of 10 guests and spend an average of $261.
On average, shoppers plan to purchase nine gifts, compared with eight in 2023.
Holiday shopping in October
Holiday shopping starts earlier every year and 2024 is no exception. In the survey, 38% of consumers say they plan to shop promotional shopping events in October compared with 24% in 2023.
Merchants agree, as 78% of retail executives say promotional events in early October, like Amazon’s Big Deal Days, are pulling holiday sales forward, according to Deloitte’s survey of 45 retail executives in July.
Still, the bulk of holiday shopping will occur in late November, in tandem with large discount days including Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Holiday shoppers look for deals, trade down
Shoppers will be looking for promotions during the holiday season as 70% of shoppers say they expect higher prices compared with last year. To combat this:
- 75% of shoppers say they plan to shop during at least one promotional event, up from 61% in 2023.
- 62% of holiday shoppers are willing to switch to a more affordable brand if their preferred brand is too expensive.
- 48% of consumers will shop at affordable retailers instead of preferred ones.
- 40% of shoppers will seek out private labels or dupe products.
In line with this, 80% of retail executives said they expect private label sales to grow faster than national brand sales, according to the executive survey.
Plus, only 32% of shoppers plan to buy a gift for themselves this holiday season, down from 48% in 2023.
“This holiday season, consumers plan to prioritize celebrating with friends and family through experiences,” said Brian McCarthy, principal at Deloitte. “To do so, they are finding ways to make their dollars go further on the gifts they want to give and the events they want to experience. With consumers leaning more into experiences and continuing to search for value, retailers have the opportunity to attract shoppers and better connect with customers by focusing on loyalty programs and offering unique incentives.”
The survey also found that ecommerce will be winner this holiday season as 71% of shoppers say online is their preferred place to holiday shop, and it is the top place, at 38%, where consumers say they plan to spend the most.
Earlier in the year Deloitte released its overall holiday spending estimate, which is a 2.3%-3.3% increase in sales for the 2024 season (November 2024, December 2024 and January 2025) compared with the 2023 holiday season. This would be a slowdown in sales growth compared with the 2023 season, when total sales increased 4.3%.
Network
