Friday, November 2, 2012

Here's part two of the "Good News for Holiday Retail" that we started yesterday. In case you missed it, go back and read yesterday's column first!

Shoppers expect to find a holiday bargain this season, as 67% of consumers said retailers will offer better prices and discounts this year. When asked what retailer tactics will entice consumers to buy a product this holiday season ...

* 77% of respondents indicated free shipping
* 74% noted price cuts
* 55% said coupons
* 44% indicated blow-out sales

Rojeh Avanesian, vice president of marketing and analytics of PriceGrabber, says that "... 59% of consumers plan to start shopping even earlier this year ... compared to 53% in 2011 ... 17% of consumers planned to start their holiday shopping in September and 31% plan to begin in October."

More shoppers will use the Internet to conduct research on products and pricing before making holiday purchases, says the report. Eighty-eight percent of respondents indicated that they will research their holiday gift purchases in advance to find the best deals. Of those respondents:

* 38% plan to spend three to six hours researching holiday gift purchases
* 29% plan to spend up to two hours
* 19% said they plan to spend over 10 hours
* 14% indicated between seven and 10 hours