5 Things to Know about Holiday Shoppers This Season

From inflation concerns to in-store shopping, KPMG’s latest holiday survey dives into when, where, and how consumers want to shop.

Lenore Fedow lenore.fedow@nationaljeweler.com

A holiday survey by KPMG found consumers’ top concern this season was inflation.

New York—This holiday season, the Grinch is inflation.

In a new report by accounting titan KPMG, rising prices topped respondents’ list of concerns heading into the holidays.

For its “Consumer Pulse Survey: Holiday 2022” survey, KPMG reached out to around 900 Americans to get a sense of their holiday plans, including what they’ll spend and on who.

Here are five important takeaways from the report.

Consumers will likely spend more on gifts this year, but many will give gifts to fewer people.

Holiday shoppers plan to spend, on average, $1,072 this season, a 6 percent increase compared with 2021. Nearly 44 percent plan to spend $500 to $2,000.

Notably, compared with the prior year, this year’s increased spending is expected to be in essential rather than discretionary categories.

“While consumers remain resilient and plan to spend a bit more this holiday season, it will likely not outpace inflation,” said Matt Kramer, KPMG’s consumer and retail national sector leader.

“Consumers will be looking for promotions this holiday season and retailers should be looking to respond by having desirable gifts for the budget conscious consumer.”

While shoppers may be spending more, their gifting list could be getting shorter.

One in four respondents said they would buy gifts for fewer people this year. Only 14 percent expect to buy presents for more people.

Less than half of respondents said they would buy holiday gifts for their parents or in-laws.

Fewer respondents plan to buy gifts for their significant other, siblings, friends, grandparents, and co-workers.

Shoppers will spend an estimated $250 per year per gift recipient this year, said the report, an 11 percent increase compared with $225 last year.

As for what they’ll be buying, the top choice (55 percent) is apparel followed by retail gift cards and gift certificates at 55 percent. Of those surveyed, 24 percent plan to buy jewelry, flat against last year’s count.

Inflation is the top concern for consumers.

Inflation topped the list of shopper concerns with 85 percent of those surveyed saying they were at least somewhat concerned about inflation.

The Consumer Price Index, which measures the average change in prices over time consumers will pay for a basket of goods and services, rose 8 percent year-over-year in August and 0.1 percent month-over-month.

In response to inflation concerns, 37 percent said they would buy fewer gifts per person while 34 percent plan to buy less expensive gifts.

However, 21 percent of respondents concerned said they would not change their behavior.

The second-most prevalent concern for shoppers (63 percent) is out-of-stock items.

To get that perfect gift before it sells out, respondents plan to shop early (46 percent) and shop online (35 percent).

The third-biggest concern is delayed shipping at 57 percent. The most popular solution for that was shopping early (53 percent), followed by shopping more in person (25 percent).