Holiday season 2022: consumer sentiment

Creating magic and an exceptional experience to meet the needs of a holiday shopper on a budget

// By Diane J. Brisebois, President & CEO of Retail Council of Canada (RCC)

As household budgets become increasingly squeezed and the cost of daily essentials continues to rise, consumers want to get more bang for their buck this holiday season. But according to the recently released 5th annual RCC x Leger Holiday Shopping Survey, Canadians are expected to spend the same amount they did in 2021, which is approximately $790.

However, the greater challenge in 2022 is finding ways to entice shoppers to physically visit and spend in store as inflation continues to be top of mind for your customers. The survey provides some good insights that may help you tweak your store and communication plans in the coming weeks (and months!) to ensure greater success and increased sales.

Health and safety concerns

Health and safety continues to rise to the top with 64 per cent of consumers saying that retailers should continue enforcing health and safety precautions in the stores to ensure safe shopping during holidays. A good way of showing that you understand their concerns is to make your health and safety measures are visible.

This year, retailers should work to create a festive shopping experience while providing assurances of safety measures, including the spacing of displays so that crowding is minimized and welcoming people to wear masks if they wish. And be sure not to hide the hand sanitizer behind a display rack!

Deal-hunting consumers

With 60 per cent of consumers telling us that they will be looking for more deals and sales for this holiday shopping season – more than in previous years - it is crucial for retailers to communicate their deals and special offers throughout the season and until Boxing Day. And as the survey shows, email continues to be the most noted and successful form of communication.

Creating an exceptional experience

With 57 per cent of respondents noting that the feeling of holiday shopping has not been the same since the pandemic, the importance of creating magic and providing exceptional customer service has never been so important.

Give your customer a reason to shop at your store, especially given the fact that the survey indicates that a whopping 56 per cent of Canadians say they intend to browse in-store for gift ideas.

Retailers can leverage this by offering suggestions concerning the ways consumers can save money by shopping with them while providing them with inspirational gift ideas and holiday shopping excitement.

Gift card interest

Another interesting change is the purchase of gift cards. While the survey is based on consumers’ purchasing intentions – so what they eventually do may differ a bit from what their intentions are at this time – the survey showed that 44 per cent of respondents would be looking to purchase gift cards this year (a drop of 4 per cent over the previous year).

Gift cards should not be overlooked by retailers. Consumers are more stressed about their budgets and finding the right gifts this holiday season. Gift cards are a great option to alleviate both concerns. So, gift cards should not be seen by retailers as a consumer’s last-minute gift idea but as a great option that should be vigorously promoted throughout the shopping season.

Holiday shopper segments

The RCC x Leger Holiday Shopping Survey has a myriad of great information. This year’s deeper analytics looked at consumer behaviour profiling, identifying five distinct holiday shoppers:

The Online Holiday Shopper (24%) The Neutral Holiday Shopper (23%) The Excited Holiday Shopper (19%) The Festive Holiday Shopper (19%) The Disenchanted Holiday Shopper (15%)

Consumers are open to visiting a wider variety of retailers this holiday shopping season as they search for deals and meaningful gifts – make sure they see you as a place to achieve both those goals!

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If you are an RCC member company or work for a member, you can access the full study here.