Well at least for shoppers. Latest figures indicate that retailers and brands can actually start to plan in advance for Christmas 2021 – unlike 2020, this is a year with more confidence and less impacted by COVID-19 restrictions.
As we approach the end of the month, we are approaching a ‘key milestone in consumer Christmas preparations’ GB TGI consumer data shows that “just 4% of adults claim they start planning their Christmas present purchases in July and August, but this rises significantly to 27% in September and October.”
Shopping attitudes toward Christmas
Further data also reveals insights into how consumers are feeling about this year’s celebrations. Data collected in June displays a significant range of attitudes towards the holiday and spending during the season.
7 million (13%) adults stated that they are planning to spend more than they tend to this Christmas, with those who “usually spend £500 or more on Christmas presents 31% more likely than the average to intend to splash out”. An interesting comparison with a similar attitude present last year which saw 16% of adults agree that “I will probably spend more on Christmas this year as I won’t be spending money on going out/Christmas parties”.
Offline and Online shopping habits
Those in the marketing industry are also excited to gauge how consumers are planning to make their purchases this Christmas and determine what the online-offline balance will look like after stores being close for so long, with spending behaviour changing accordingly.
10 million (19%) of adults also stated that they will buy most of their presents in store this year rather than online, and 33% said that they intend to buy the majority of their Christmas food also in-store as oppose to online.
All Response Media viewpoint
TV inflation in September has gone bananas. An unexpected slew of cash is flooding the market, just as people get back to work, which causes the nightmare situation of a drop in impacts and an increase in cash.
This is occurring just as people are beginning to think about Christmas, which is forecast to be a bumper blowout this year as more people than ever have put money aside, and have some savings to make the festive period one to remember.
Things to consider to influence this audience now:
- Look at fixed cost CPT deals within daytime with Sky. These are immune to the inflation in the market. Your ARM team will advise you on the best way to amend your plans to make sure that you are getting the best value over this period.
- Consider other media, such as audio, Newspapers, Inserts and DoorDrops. This could be a good time to expand your testing to determine the success that can be achieved by adding more media to your performance schedule
- Double-down on ARMalytics insight. When the pricing goes up, it’s more important than ever to squeeze the analytics until the pips squeak.
