More than 1/3 of shoppers plan to start holiday shopping before Black Friday [report]

After surveying 1,500 shoppers, the retail-focused digital marketing agency CPC Strategy forecasts this year’s holiday season will see steady growth over last year’s numbers, with consumers hunting for holiday discounts well before the usual deals begin to surface.

“More shoppers expect deals far before Black Friday or late in December,” says the agency’s CEO, Rick Backus, in a release announcing their 2017 Holiday Shopping Forecast report.

According to CPC Strategy’s survey results, 35.5 percent of shoppers will start shopping before Thanksgiving, and 32 percent will start before December.

When do you plan to start shopping for holiday gifts this year?

CPC Strategy notes the overwhelming of popularity of Amazon’s Prime Day is most likely playing into why so many shoppers are beginning their holiday shopping early.

Of the participants, a whopping 72.1 percent said they will look for gifts on Amazon. Thirty-eight percent said they plan to shop online discount retailers like Walmart and Target.

Sixty percent report they will do holiday shopping in-store at Walmart, Target and similar big box retailers. That’s still fewer than the number of shoppers who report they’re going to shop for gifts on Amazon.

“The truth is, retailers and brands can’t afford to rely on the tactics they’ve used every year,” says Backus. “Amazon has completely changed consumer expectations, for better or for worse.”

CPC Strategy says the driving motivator for where to shop is price, with 46.1 percent of survey participants claiming overall price (shipping included) is the leading factor when making a decision where to buy holiday gifts.

Price far outranked any other decision. Brand Quality came in second, but only 16.2 percent of shoppers claimed it would be the most likely factor to affect their holiday shopping decision.

Which of these factors most affect your decision to shop for holiday gifts from a particular brand or retailer?

CPC Strategy found 73.5 percent of shoppers plan to spend the same amount on holiday gifts as they did last year, and 14.6 percent plan to spend more.

The full report can be downloaded (registration required) from CPC Strategy’s site at: 2017 US Holiday Shopping Forecasts.

About The Author

Amy Gesenhues

Amy Gesenhues is Third Door Media’s General Assignment Reporter, covering the latest news and updates for Marketing Land and Search Engine Land. From 2009 to 2012, she was an award-winning syndicated columnist for a number of daily newspapers from New York to Texas. With more than ten years of marketing management experience, she has contributed to a variety of traditional and online publications, including MarketingProfs.com, SoftwareCEO.com, and Sales and Marketing Management Magazine. Read more of Amy’s articles.