Holiday Retail Sales Driven by Confident Shoppers with More to Spend and More to Buy, Synchrony Financial Study Finds
STAMFORD, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–As consumers deck their halls and hit the malls over the coming weeks,
they are doing so with more optimism about their personal finances,
according to an independent study1 by Synchrony Financial
(NYSE: SYF),
the nation’s largest provider of private label credit cards.2
Nearly half (47%) of those surveyed indicate they are more confident in
their financial situation than last year (37%), and 48% plan to start
their holiday shopping earlier this year.
Improved finances and larger gift lists are cited as reasons that 32% of
shoppers surveyed plan to spend more this season than last season, up
from 21% in 2014. Toys, games, electronics, apparel, shoes and gift
cards are key gift buying categories. At the same time, over half (53%)
of participants set a holiday budget and 76% report they always
comparison shop to ensure the best price.
While shoppers surveyed are more confident, deals remain essential for
holiday buying, and 39% report they expect to get the best deals on
Black Friday. Of participants who expect to spend more this season, 90%
intend to shop on special sale days. One-third of all respondents plan
to start shopping before Black Friday, 54% expect to make a purchase on
Black Friday, and 55% on Cyber Monday. Online research is an important
part of the purchase process, especially for higher ticket items.
Specifically, survey participants plan to purchase online more home
improvement and electronics items in the $500+ category.
In-store still dominates for holiday shopping, but it’s a multi-channel
experience. Holiday shopping online is considered easier by 70% of
shoppers surveyed, and the most important reasons for buying online
include free shipping, price and convenience. While online sales are
growing at approximately 10% year-over-year3, 51% of
participants report they typically find out about holiday sales from
their newspaper.
“In our survey, shoppers indicate they have more to spend and more to
buy this season, influenced by their underlying confidence about their
personal finances. This is similar to other insights we’ve gathered,
showing shopper optimism is balanced with a spending plan and sales
research to stretch dollars further and maximize discounts and rewards,”
said Sanjay Sidhwani, senior vice president of Marketing Analytics for
Synchrony Financial. “We are forecasting a 3.6% rise in holiday retail
sales based on analyzing multiple factors that influence holiday buying
across segments.”
More than 80% of shoppers surveyed intend to use credit to pay for at
least some of their holiday purchases. Rewards are an important factor
and the biggest differentiator for 40% of credit card users when
deciding which credit card to use.
The pre-holiday, online survey, conducted September 18-28 on behalf of
Synchrony Financial by RTi Research, examined the holiday shopping plans
and preferences of more than 1,400 participants, including 701 Synchrony
Bank cardholders and 700 random shoppers.
Sidhwani notes, “In addition to this year’s survey, this is the second
year Synchrony Financial has developed a holiday shopping forecast from
evaluating historical data, trends, and a number of indicators such as
unemployment, gas prices, private residential construction, and
non-traditional indicators.”
The Synchrony Financial Market Research team provides insights into
consumer attitudes and perceptions toward the retail brand, products and
platforms to improve customer satisfaction.
More information can be found at www.SynchronyFinancial.com.
About Synchrony Financial
Synchrony Financial (NYSE: SYF)
is one of the nation’s premier consumer financial services companies.
Our roots in consumer finance trace back to 1932, and today we are the
largest provider of private label credit cards in the United States
based on purchase volume and receivables.2 We provide a range
of credit products through programs we have established with a diverse
group of national and regional retailers, local merchants,
manufacturers, buying groups, industry associations and healthcare
service providers to help generate growth for our partners and offer
financial flexibility to our customers. Through our partners’ over
300,000 locations across the United States and Canada, and their
websites and mobile applications, we offer our customers a variety of
credit products to finance the purchase of goods and services. Synchrony
Financial (formerly GE Capital Retail Finance) offers private label and
co-branded Dual Card™ credit cards, promotional financing and
installment lending, loyalty programs and FDIC-insured savings products
through Synchrony Bank. More information can be found at www.synchronyfinancial.com,
facebook.com/SynchronyFinancial
and twitter.com/SYFNews.
1Synchrony Financial Holiday Study, October 2015
2Source: Based on purchase volume and receivables. The Nilson
Report (April, 2015, Issue # 1062) – based on 2014 data.
3 https://www.census.gov/retail/ecommerce/historic_releases.html
Synchrony Financial defines retail holiday sales as November 1 –
December 31, and core holiday categories as: department stores, general
merchandise, clothing, specialty, non-store, home, and grocery; this
excludes retail sales at restaurants, gas stations, and motor vehicle
dealers.
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circumstances after the date on which the statement is made or to
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Tags: Retail, Holiday, Shopping, Consumer, Stores, Spending
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