RAPAPORT... The average U.S. shopper will spend $462.95 on gifts for
family members this holiday season, a 0.9 percent increase over the expense last
year, according to the National Retail Federation and ShopperTrak.
Buyers will spend $131.59 on non-gift items for themselves
or others during the period, up 4.1 percent on
2014, according to NRF data.
The survey also shows a difference in approach between the so-called
‘millennials’, 82 percent of whom say word-of-mouth plays a key role in buying
decisions, and the generation popularly known as ‘Baby Boomers’, who allow someone
else’s views to influence their purchases 52 percent of the time. That said, the
disparity between the two methods to online product research is slim, with 90
percent of younger people looking up purchase ideas on the web, compared with
86 percent of Baby Boomers.
Of millennials, 35 percent research products online while in
store, compared with 15 percent of Baby Boomers. The younger generation tends
to put an emphasis on technology in making shopping experiences frictionless
and care greatly about price, whereas seniors put a premium on customer service
and are more concerned about style, the survey points out.
|
|
|
|
|