By www.jewellerynetasia.com
Nearly 23 percent of consumers say they are hoping for jewellery this year, ranking fourth on the National Retail Federation’s 2011 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey. Not bad considering the enormous amount of products available in today’s marketplace.
Small and large gifts are expected to make big impressions this year, according to the annual survey, a benchmark forecasting tool for the retail industry. The most popular item for the fifth year in a row—and at the highest level in the survey’s history—are gift cards with 57.7 percent of shoppers said they’d like to receive a card this holiday season. Other items on consumers’ wish lists include clothing or clothing accessories (50 percent), consumer electronics or computer-related accessories (35.4 percent). Then there’s jewellery at 22.8 percent followed by personal care items (19.3 percent), according to the survey.
Shoppers say they plan to shell out an average of $704.18 on holiday gifts and seasonal merchandise, down slightly from last year’s $718.98, according to the survey. NRF is forecasting overall holiday retail sales to grow 2.8 percent, year-over-year, to $465.6 billion.
What’s even more interesting and an area where jewellery could fall behind is the way people plan to shop. Not surprisingly, in addition to an increase use of e-commerce and social media, more people are turning to mobile as they will not doubt continue to do so for years to come. If you remember my blog from last week, you will know that this is an area where the jewellery industry is far behind its retail competitors.
According to the survey, 52.6 percent of those who own a smartphone said they will use their device to research products, redeem coupons, use apps to assist in their purchase, and purchase holiday gifts and items. Specifically, 31 percent said they will research products and/or compare prices, 14.1 percent will purchase products, 17.3 percent will redeem coupons and 15.6 percent will use apps to research or purchase items. One-quarter of smartphone owners will use their phone to look up a retailer’s information such as store hours and location.
Tablet owners are even more likely to use their device for their holiday shopping, according to the survey. More than 70 percent of tablet owners will research and shop using their device. According to the survey, nearly 51 percent of tablet owners will research products and/or compare prices, and nearly 35 percent will actually make a purchase with their device. Tablet owners will also redeem coupons (21.5%), look up retailer information (33.8%) and use apps to research items or purchase products (21%).
Age certainly plays a factor in mobile shopping. According to the survey, Americans aged 18-24 are the most likely to use their smartphones (72.2%) and tablets (86.4%) to shop for holiday items this year.
Men are also considerably more likely than women to use their smartphones and tablets to shop for gifts, according to the survey. Nearly 18 percent of men and nearly 10.8 percent of women who own smartphones plan to purchase products, and nearly 40 percent of men and 31.3 percent of women with tablets will make purchases this holiday season.
