Americans are likely to spend more this Christmas, because with the economic downturn abating, most Americans have more to spend. Matthew Shay, CEO of the Retail Federation estimates that holiday spending will increase by 4.1 percent or more. So if you spent $600 last year and are the average Joe or Jill, it is likely you’ll spend another $25 this year.
The statistics are bearing out Shay’s optimism. Over the past 25 months, there has been a consistent increase in retail sales each month. And some 60 to 65 percent of the American shopping population say they will rely on cash or debit cards this year, a good sign that the temptation to pile on holiday debt is going the way of the Ghost of Christmases Past.
Shay credits a good helping of better financial management to the recovering economy to explain the improvement. “We are using sound money management fundamentals,” he says.
Steve Krenzer, CEO of Pricegrabber.com, agrees that a bit of wisdom in the holiday shopping frenzy can salvage budgets that might otherwise be scuttled. His company compares prices on more than 80 million products and works with 40,000 merchants.
Krenzer says there are indications that shoppers are not always intent on getting the “bottom prices.” They factor in other details such as shipping costs, return policies and guarantees that may counterbalance the price. Shoppers engaging in “couch commerce” look at all of these angles before pressing the final button. More than 90 percent of today’s shoppers research their options before making purchases, he says.
This Christmas, it is apparent at the outset for Pricegrabber, that electronics are taking second place to soft goods — including clothing and other personal items — on many shopping lists.
Mondays and Tuesdays are the most active days for online shipping, Krenzer said, and women, as the “chief household officers” are more likely to be the family shoppers than men. The average age for shoppers is mid-40s.
Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos works hard at keeping a finger on the retail pulse. That is how the noted e-tailer, which employs more than 80,000 people, keeps at the top of the frugality game. Amazon’s market value has reached $114 billion dollars. He is constantly on the lookout for new products, many of them devised to address consumer complaints.
This year’s Kindle Paperwhite, an e-ink device that includes illumination for the first time, is one of those products. The product, moderately priced at just $119, is nerdily wonderful, allowing the avid reader to peruse his books in bed without disturbing a partner. That’s the kind of consumer consideration that makes Bezos the undisputed heir to the late Apple’s Steve Jobs as the poster boy for entrepreneurship in today’s market.
One of his strategies is to invent new products to push to customers. He encourages development of some of these after listening to consumer complaints. He released this product for sale this year: the Kindle Fire HD 7, selling for $199 plays streaming video and DVDs in true HD, is the most gifted item on Amazon.
Prominent e-tailers such as these are doing their bit to make the holiday shopping more stress-free. Wise consumers will piggy-back on their advice by researching before buying, looking at all the factors before making final decisions, avoiding “panic” buying and becoming aware of what’s really out there. As Santa himself would say, this way, “it’s in the bag.”