Retail Industry Won't Be Saved by Last Minute Shoppers

Retail

Published: October 31, 2017 7:20 am

As Christmas Day approaches, struggling retailers hold out hope that people who have not done holiday shopping earlier in the season will stream through their doors to improve their fortunes at the last moment. New research shows that will not happen. Retailers who need a last boost of sales won’t get one.

A study by research firm NPD shows:

The Holiday 2017 shopping season will be the first when more U.S. consumers will start shopping in the middle of the season (Thanksgiving weekend through Cyber Monday) than will start late in the season (i.e. early December), reports The NPD Group, a leading global information company. According to NPD’s 2017 Holiday Purchase Intentions Survey, getting a late start to the holiday shopping season has become less prevalent over the last 10 years.

The culprit is that retailers have stolen their own late holiday sales as they have pushed discounts and promotions forward to Thanksgiving and Black Friday.

To compound the problem, both early and late shoppers will crowd the internet as they shop without leaving their homes or offices. E-commerce shoppers can buy on Thanksgiving or on December 23, if they are willing to pay for overnight shipping to get their packages by the 24th.

There will be no late holiday surprise for retailers this year.

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