Holiday Shopping Preview: Plans to Shop at Big-Box Retailers Up 20%

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Although it may seem early to start thinking about the winter holidays, many Americans are already doing just that. Recent CivicScience data show that 45% of U.S. adults have begun thinking about and preparing for the holidays at least ‘a little,’ a slight increase from this time last year. Summer savings events have also played a role in bringing early holiday shopping into the spotlight. Following this year’s Prime Day event, CivicScience found that 17% of shoppers reported purchasing items for the holidays. 

As Americans start to prepare for the holidays, here are three key insights to help retailers stay ahead of the upcoming season:

Answer our Polls: Is it too early for winter holiday shopping?

1. Has the ‘holiday creep’ peaked?

August 2024 data show that 28% of holiday shoppers already started checking items off their shopping list. This stands two percentage points less than this time last year (30%) and four points less than the previous year (32%). Despite this, more people are still planning to start before Thanksgiving compared to last year. 

Those who’ve already started shopping are most likely to be: 

• Gen Z aged 18-24 
• Households with an income under $50K
• Men
• Beauty trend followers
• Buy Now, Pay Later users and intenders
• Those doing the majority of their holiday shopping in stores
• Americans who are still keeping their New Year’s resolutions

2. Spending intent looks similar to previous years but slowly shifting.

As of mid-August, 26% of holiday shoppers say they intend to spend more this year compared to last season, and a slightly greater percentage, 27%, plan to spend less this year. However, a near majority will spend about the same amount as previous years (47%). These figures look relatively similar to previous years but are slowly shifting as the percentage spending ‘more’ is up one percentage point from this time last year. 

3. Big-box retailers lead among holiday shoppers by a wide margin.

Big-box retailers can expect a large influx of holiday shoppers this year. Data show a whopping 48% of holiday shoppers intend to do most of their holiday shopping at these types of retailers, compared to 40% this time last year. Additionally, deep discount holiday shopping is up slightly from the last two years, with 10% currently doing the majority of their shopping at these types of retailers. 

Conversely, far fewer plan to shop at small businesses this year, and slightly fewer intend to shop at department stores and specialty/chain stores.

Cast Your Vote: Is holiday shopping fun or stressful?

While early holiday shopping has seen a slight decline for this time of year, it remains strong among specific consumer segments, including buy now, pay later users/intenders and beauty trend followers. Spending intentions are similar to previous years, but big-box retailers can anticipate an influx of shoppers, with consumers being 20% more likely to choose these stores this year. As the holiday season approaches, CivicScience will continue to monitor and share the latest trends.

See beyond the data – With CivicScience, you can leverage insights like these to build highly targeted audience segments for successful advertising campaigns. Learn how with our free eBook.