Holiday Shopping Stats, Starting With $1T For US Spending

This year, holiday spending is expected to tip the scales at more than $1 trillion — yes, with a T.

And that T is the product of consumers being more confident and optimistic and yet a little skeptical. They’re ready to go over budget and take on debt. They are asking more from their retailers and merchants. They expect coupons and special deals and still will go for an in-store or omnichannel experience even if they like to shop online. They want their gifts to arrive “like yesterday,” even if they have to pay more because both the beginning of Hanukkah and Christmas fall on the same day.

But what other surprising research numbers are out there for the last few days of holiday shopping? Well, with new research in hand, start memorizing some of these to bring up at the Christmas Eve cocktail party or just around the family dinner table on Christmas Day.

• The $1 trillion total is the result of a nearly 4 percent increase over last year, according to Deloittes’s 2016 Holiday Survey.
• More than 13 percent of shoppers are going to find those last-minute gifts at grocery stores, according to the National Retail Federation’s Holiday 2016: Consumer Survey Highlights.
• The average adult is expected to spend more than $400 this holiday season on gifts.
• Some people are more generous than others, but $244 is the average total for cash donations this year.
• BOPIS customers hover around 65 percent. That’s (Buy Online, Pickup In Store).
• Are you using a mobile device to buy presents? More than three out of four Americans are.
• Quit searching for that “perfect gift” — more than 40 percent of people just want a gift card.
• More than 80 percent of consumers are using Amazon as a guidebook or research method before purchasing somewhere else.
• Mobile sales are slated to be 25 percent higher over last year.
• Who doesn’t love a good deal? Turns out, 72 percent of shoppers are lured by coupons and promotions.
• Little known secret: Nearly 50 percent of shoppers are looking for the after-Christmas sales.

Enjoy these stats, share them around the tree and around the table. PYMNTS wishes all our readers a happy and safe holiday.