57% of Marketing Pros Admit They’re Unprepared for Shifting Consumer Behaviors

As the holiday season comes into full swing shopping behavior among consumers is projected to shrink with in-store purchases. This according to research by BlueVenn. More than half of marketers (57%) admit to being concerned they can’t adjust to changes in shopping behavior this holiday season.

The research reveals 64% of US consumers will dramatically change the way they shop this year. This is throwing a wrench on predictions and forecasts businesses usually rely on during the holiday season.

Marketing Pros Unprepared for Changing Consumer Behavior

This year those planning to make no trips to shops and retailers are expected to reach 17% compared to 8% in 2019. And this is prompting 61% of marketers to fear losing regular customers to online channels.

Some of the anticipated changes in shopping behavior include:

With money tight, only 22% of US consumers plan to spend more this Christmas, while 48% will spend less.

Only 30% of shoppers will spend the same amount as they did last year for Christmas. While 22% plan to spend less than what they did last year.

The percentage of shoppers planning to do more than half of their shopping in-store has dropped by more than half, falling from 54% to 26% this year.

More than half (56%) of all US shoppers will buy their gifts using a mix of in-store and online shopping this year.
On the upside, US gift hunters will spend 11% more per trip than they did last year.

What’s Eating Away the Holiday Shopping Spirit?

Stores are expected to be less crowded this year with 72% of US shoppers planning to shop less. For 36% of US consumers, they are citing safety concerns as their top reason for staying away. With shoppers 55 years and above as the most worried, accounting for 38% of those avoiding in-store purchases.

Enticing Shoppers to Come in and Buy

US shoppers rate price as the top factor (80%) that could incentivize them to shop at brick-and-mortar stores. This is followed by having purchased from the shop in the past (65%). In the US, flash sales narrowly rank above the need for a personalized experience by a margin of only 1%. With 59% looking for flash sales while 58% looking for a personalized shopping experience. Personalization is more important to the 35-44 age bracket than it is to any other age group. Sixty-four percent of US shoppers of this age group are swayed by it.

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This article, "57% of Marketing Pros Admit They’re Unprepared for Shifting Consumer Behaviors" was first published on Small Business Trends