Christmas holidays are only a eight weeks away. That is why, small businesses need to start gearing up for the busiest time of the year. A new survey further confirms this necessity since it found that this year holiday shoppers will rely mainly on local small businesses.
The news was shared in Deluxe Corporation’s Deluxe Annual Holiday Shopping Survey. It included the opinions of thousands of consumers and it focused on their holiday shopping plans.
What the research concluded was that around 35% of consumers will do their holiday shopping at local small business stores. This is an 8% rise compared to 2012. According to the survey, the reasons for that are different. However, most shoppers will pick small stores because they want to show their support to local business. In addition, many consumers believe that these shops offer more personalized services and offer them higher chance to find one-of-a-kind merchandise. Holiday shoppers also believe that small business often offer products and service at cheaper prices.
Researchers behind the study say that this should encourage small businesses. However, they also warn them that today consumers rely a lot on technology when they do their shopping. That is what small stores need to try to meet this need of their clients. Otherwise, they will not be able to push their sales higher.
The research proves that online presence will be of key importance for small businesses during the 2013 holiday season. Almost 80% of consumers, who participated in the survey, plan to do their holiday shopping on the web this year. Also, over 33% of them will rely on boutique or small business websites.
The survey found that businesses need to get ready for the shoppers’ invasion prepared before the start of the official start of the Christmas shopping. The beginning of the holiday gift shopping is traditionally marked by Black Friday and Cyber Monday. According to the study, over 40% of the people intend to purchase their Christmas presents in early November. Those who will wait for Thanksgiving are only 15% of the consumers.
The research also suggests that small business need to do their best to surprise shoppers with something like a holiday gift. A good choice here would be a discount on a future service or a product. About 50% of consumers have stated that this will attract their interest. However, they can go with something simpler. For example, 18% of shoppers will be happy to get just a holiday card.
