Accenture Survey : U.S. Consumers Plan To Increase Holiday Spending This Year

(RTTNews) - Amid signs of increased optimism about their personal finances, 25 percent of U.S. consumers plans to spend more on holiday shopping this year compared to 20 percent in 2013, and spending on holiday gifts is expected to average $718, according to Accenture's (ACN) annual holiday shopping survey.

The survey also found consumer enthusiasm for Black Friday shopping has reached its highest level in eight years. Two-thirds of respondents (66 percent) said they are likely to shop on Black Friday, compared to 55 percent who planned to do so in 2013 and 44 percent who said the same back in 2007.

In addition, 37 percent plan to shop online during that period using a desktop, mobile device or tablet, which is up from 32 percent in 2013. Plans to shop on Thanksgiving Day and evening rose to 45 percent from 38 percent in 2013. Of those consumers planning to shop on the holiday, 47 percent said that they will be shopping in a physical store between 6 PM Thanksgiving Day and 5 AM on Black Friday.

The Accenture Holiday Shopping Survey found that of those consumers planning to spend more this year, 28 percent said they have more discretionary income and 22 percent noted that they have greater job security, up from 15 percent in 2013. Additionally, consumers are planning to allocate a greater share of wallet to holiday shopping than in previous years.

Of those planning to spend more this year, 47 percent plan to spend $250 or more compared to 40 percent in 2013. Of the 19 percent of consumers who plan to spend less this year, 41 percent said they will reduce the amount they spend by less than $100.

Nearly all respondents (96 percent versus 94 percent in 2013) said that discounts will be important to their purchasing decisions, and more than one in four (29 percent) said that it would take a discount of 50 percent or more to persuade them to make a purchase.

Retailers could also see a shift in sales in the post-holiday season this year, as more than half (57 percent) of consumers plan to purchase gift cards this year and 17 percent will use gift cards to do their holiday shopping, up from 10 percent in 2013.

The survey revealed that 49 percent of consumers had already started, or planned to start, the majority of their shopping in September, well in advance of Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Nearly one-fifth of survey respondents (19 percent) said they had already spent between $100 and $500 on holiday gift purchases by mid-September of this year. One contributing factor could be that over the past three years, the number of consumers who believe the best discounts of the season can be found before Thanksgiving and Black Friday has been rising steadily - to 18 percent in 2014, compared to 14 percent in 2013 and 12 percent in 2012.

The results of the survey further showed that despite some consumers seeing an increase in discretionary income, rising prices - specifically for food, gas and home energy bills - remain a concern among some consumers and will affect some spending this holiday season. The survey results do indicate, however, that many consumers are planning ahead to pay for their holiday shopping: 57 percent of respondents say they will pay for their holiday purchases with cash they've put aside, a small increase from 52 percent last year.

Of the 61 percent of consumers planning to shop in a physical store on Thanksgiving or Black Friday, the majority (56 percent) are planning to go to three or more stores. Thirty-eight percent of shoppers would shop in-store on Black Friday to take advantage of doorbuster deals.

Nearly half (49 percent) believe that the best deals of the season are on Thanksgiving, Black Friday or Cyber Monday. Fewer shoppers than last year (32 percent, down from 41 percent in 2013) said that interfering with family time was a reason to not shop in a physical store on Thanksgiving.