Holiday survey finds shoppers plan to spend less, shop at fewer stores this year

According to a new survey released by Deloitte, consumers are planning on spending significantly less money and visiting fewer stores during this year’s holiday season.

The 2020 Deloitte holiday retail survey showed that shoppers expect to cut back in four areas: spending, travel and experiences, time spent shopping and in-store shopping. On average, people surveyed expected to spend about $1,400 per household, 7 percent less than what was spent last year. Thirty-eight percent said that they planned on spending less due to concerns about economic instability, the highest number of people to say so since the Great Recession in 2008.

The holiday shopping season itself is expected to be cut down by a week and a half this year. Half of those surveyed expressed anxiety about browsing in-store and 73 percent planned to have items delivered, higher than the 62 percent who shopped similarly last year.

These projections don’t bode well for the retail sector, already decimated by the coronavirus pandemic. Well-known businesses like Neiman Marcus, J.C. Penney and J. Crew have all filed for bankruptcy this year with store closings expected to follow.

The Deloitte survey also showed that although COVID-19 safety was a concern for many, factors such as getting a good deal and access to a variety of products were still more important to prospective shoppers when choosing a retail store.