Jennifer Berry, Earth911 livescience.com 14 Nov 08;
As the 2008 holiday shopping season rapidly approaches, retailers are looking to forecast consumer behavior and spending during a tight time in the world economy.
Thinking Green
According to a survey by Deloitte LLP, almost 59 percent of consumers expect to reduce their spending this holiday season. However, the survey also found that 44 percent of consumers are willing to pay extra for "green" gifts. Half of these consumers say they are willing to pay between 10 and 25 percent more.
Green shopping practices also continue to be a focus, with 38 percent of consumers saying they will use fewer plastic bags while 21 percent are planning on not wrapping holiday gifts to conserve paper. Shopping online also continues to be considered a greener practice, with more than one-third of consumers saying they will shop more online and in catalogs this year in order to save on gas.
"The big question around the green movement has always been how it translates into revenues for retailers," said Stacy Janiak, Deloitte's U.S. retail leader. "Our survey shows that a significant number of people will pay more for eco-friendly products, which tells us that this issue is becoming a key factor in consumers' purchasing decisions." In fact, one in five consumers say they will purchase more "eco-friendly" products this season.
Thinking Value
Consumers are also predicted to alter their shopping habits by focusing on value. More say they will shop at venues such as discount department stores, warehouse clubs, outlet stores and even flea markets and re-sale stores. 73 percent of consumers surveyed said "the best value for the money will cause them to shop at a particular retailer this season."
Other luxury indicators such as quality and selection of merchandise and customer service/experience ranked lower than last year. Consumers are looking to purchase more items on sale, consolidate shopping trips to conserve gas and use more store coupons.
Top Gifts
Despite these value-driven trends, expensive electronics continue to be listed as some of the most sought-after items, such as Nintendo's Wii gaming system, Apple's iPod and iPhone, Sony's PlayStation and the Microsoft Xbox. The top "generic" gifts mentioned were televisions (HD, plasma and flat screen), computers, laptops, GPS systems and digital cameras.
