Study shows shoppers plan to rely on private brands this holiday season
As the holiday season approaches, Daymon, a private brand development firm, conducted its annual Consumer Holiday Study to find out what consumers’ top priorities are.
The ongoing supply chain and inflation issues will make the 2021 holiday season challenging for both shoppers and retailers. A recent study from Numerator found that over 75% of shoppers are worried that product shortages will have an impact on their holiday shopping. Over a third of consumers say they will start shopping earlier than usual this year.
Daymon’s study was a national survey completed in October 2021, comprised of data from 1,000 respondents, and contains some good news for private label brands.
“As we approach this year’s holiday season, consumers plan to stick to gift-giving budgets despite rising prices, creating a tricky balancing act for retailers,” said Daymon in the report. “While consumers are looking to get back to typical or pre-COVID holiday celebrations, budgeting is an increased concern, with almost half of consumers planning to stick to a budget.”
The study found that 69% of consumers are looking for ways to save money this holiday season, and over a quarter say they already started shopping in October to get ahead of potential supply shortages; 70% percent of shoppers say they plan to spend the same or less than they did last year, though it doesn’t necessarily mean shoppers plan on spending less.
In the study, 60% of those who purchased private brand gifts last year say they will “definitely” purchase private brand gifts again this holiday season; 86% of consumers surveyed said they intend to purchase private brands for their holiday gifting needs this year, and Daymon suggests that retailers need to have their private label items front and center to support consumers during this extra difficult shopping season.
“As consumers across ages and income levels purchase private brands, retailers need to lead their seasonal strategy with their private brands to capture maximum spending dollars and consumer loyalty,” per the report. “This includes meeting consumers where they shop. Consumers expect to take more of an omnichannel approach to holiday shopping this year, performing a higher combination of in-store and online purchases. Retailers need to be thinking about how their private brands are represented across channels to have consistent messaging and promote purchasing.”