Our Holiday Shopping and Gift Wish List Report will start popping up in client's in boxes later this week after a few final tweaks are made. We've expanded the report this year to include deeper coverage of some topics in order to provide additional context. While the NRF expects holiday sales to rise about 4% this season among the general U.S. population, we are anticipating an increase of 10% among teens and college students with an average individual spend of $634. That amount represents the amount spent on family members and other relatives, significant others, friends and individual "for me" purchases. Breaking out the $634 among those groups looks like this: $266 will go towards family members and relatives, $210 for significant others and other friends, and $158 will be spent on "for me" gifts. Think it is too early for the start of the holiday shopping season? Think again. Slightly more than one in three (36%) respondents said they already have made at least one holiday-related purchase. Better yet, a lot of respondents hope to have everything wrapped up before we turn our calendars to December. 41% said "they hope to have the majority of their holiday-related purchases made by the end of November." So, what will be the hot items this holiday season? Similar to previous waves of the report, clothing and accessories tops the list for planned purchases and the top gift the audience the hopes to receive. We continue to see a marked increase in the accessories category especially. We define the accessories category in very broad terms. It can be anything from a key chain or wallet to cap or hat. Luxury-brand accessories like Coach handbags and wallets, Louis Vuitton keychains and Chanel and Prada sunglasses wound up on many gift wish lists. The audience's insatiable appetite for luxury brand items and accessories seem to have kicked into overdrive just when we thought it might cool down. The denim category also comes in very strong with premium labels like Paper Denim, Seven For All Mankind, True Religion and Rock and Republic showing up all over the place. And finally, it should be a strong season for outerwear and outerwear accessories like hats, scarves. Outerwear brands and stores mentioned most often include Urban Outfitters, Forever 21, J. Crew, Nordstrom and American Eagle Outfitters. More to come on other gift categories later this week.
How many people will look to refocus their holiday spending to change the world for good? ChristmasFuture helps people give a gift that helps eradicate extreme poverty. We're different because, like a gift card, we allow the gift recipient choice.
Anyway, it'd be interested to find out how many people are trying to consumer more justly over the holidays.
Posted by: Leif Baradoy | October 23, 2007 at 02:55 PM