Sep 8

Written by: IRI Blog
9/8/2009 10:36 AM

We recently conducted a 1,000-household survey to capture consumers’ thoughts on how they will budget for, shop, and celebrate the holidays this year. The results show Americans are growing weary of bad economic news and are ready to start spreading the holiday cheer.  Results of the survey indicate a slight rise in consumer confidence compared to last year.  However, consumers plan to head into stores with their shopping lists in hand and their budget in mind.  
Some conclusions from the survey:

• Concerns about the price of food has dropped more than 20 percent this year (98 percent in 2008 vs. 77 percent in 2009).
• Concerns about the effect of gasoline prices on holiday shopping has dropped by 10 percent compared to 2008.
• The overall effect of the recession on shopping decisions decreased nearly 5 percent since last year.
• 77 percent of consumers will be treating themselves, and others, this holiday season even if times are tough.
• Just over 52 percent of consumers said they would spend up to $499 on holiday gifts, about 9.2 percent more than last year.

Although consumers will be opening their wallets wider than they did during the 2008 holiday season, they are conservatively optimistic and are taking a more strategic approach to shopping this year.  I will host a webinar on Tuesday, September 15, 2009 from 1:00 to 2:00pm CT to discuss these survey results in more detail and also provide recommendations for the CPG industry. Register for the Webinar on our website by clicking here.

Best,
Thom Blischock

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