After the big holiday sales, January might seem like a slow month for shopaholics and bargain hunters. However, even if the year has started with huge discounts, not many people would be likely to take advantage of them. A recent survey, conducted by RetailmeNot has discovered that more than 60% of consumers relied mainly on credit cards when they did their holiday shopping. As a result, they have started 2014 on the red.
This should not worry retail companies. According to the poll, 40% of consumers prefer to spend money instead of saving. Also, nearly 70% of all the people who participated in the survey are confident that they will enjoy higher incomes this year.
Higher incomes also mean more spending. At least that is the case with 87% of the survey’s respondents. They shared that they are planning to shop more this year compared to 2013. Nevertheless, they a big part of them is determined to stay within their budget. For that reason, 26% of consumers will spend more time hunting for discounts.
Another thing that the study reveals is that consumers are not saving only for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. In fact, they calendars are filled up with various gift-giving holidays. Mother’s Day seems to involve more spending, since 17% of the survey’s participants shared that they have the habit to shop on this date. Next, is Valentine’s Day on which 16% of consumers like to indulge into shopping.
In addition, many people plan to increase their online shopping budget. Therefore, businesses are advised to consider tapping onto the ecommerce market as soon as they can. In fact, 24% of consumers want retailer to increase their online catalogue. Nevertheless, they still do not like shipping services. According to the poll’s results, 44% of the shoppers hope that more retailers will allow them to pick up their online orders in-store, instead of having them delivered to their door. That is because consumers are not particularly fond of shipping taxes.
It also seems that online shopping has become more mobile. Even though the majority of online shoppers use mainly their desktop PCs, the popularity of smartphones and tablets is also increasing. As a result, shoppers expect to use their mobile gadgets for online purchase more often compared to the previous year.
The survey informs that retailers should not hope for high sales during January and February. After that, however, things will slowly start to heat up. During the spring, consumers have stated that they will invest more on garden and home products. In May, travel deals will enjoy big consumer interest which will last all through the summer. As for beauty and health products, they will maintain a stable sales rate during the entire 2014.
