November 24, 2014

U.K. Consumers Set to Spend More This Christmas; Majority Plan to Shop on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Accenture Study Finds


LONDON; Nov. 24, 2014 – Amid signs of greater economic optimism, almost a third of U.K. consumers (31 percent) plan to increase their spending on holiday shopping his year, according to Accenture’s (NYSE:ACN) 2014 Christmas Shopping Survey. The survey indicates that more than a quarter of consumers (27 percent) are planning to spend £250 or more on Christmas shopping than they did in 2013.

According to the survey, more than half of British consumers plan their Christmas shopping in advance: 57 percent had already started or planned to start purchasing presents by mid-September. In addition, one in five consumers (21 percent) had already spent between £60 and £300 on Christmas gifts by mid-September.

More than half (54 percent) of the survey respondents said they will put cash aside to pay for their Christmas shopping with a third (32 percent) planning to do so to take advantage of special “door buster deals.” Nearly all respondents (93 percent) said that discounts are the primary driver of purchasing decisions related to their holiday shopping.

The survey shows that in the run up to the holiday season, the adoption of U.S. retail milestones is clearly taking a stronghold in the U.K. In fact, 82 percent of respondents plan to shop on Black Friday and 62 percent on Cyber Monday. The survey found that clothing (64 percent), grocery items (49 percent), gift cards (41 percent) and toys (37 percent) top British consumers’ Christmas shopping lists this year, with almost a third of respondents (31 percent) spending most on themselves.

“With consumers starting to shop for Christmas gifts as early as September, retailers have an extended period to drive sales and acquire new customers,” said Fiona O’Hara, managing director, Retail, Accenture UK & Ireland. “Further, with Black Friday and Cyber Monday fast becoming fixtures on the U.K. retail calendar, retailers have an opportunity to capitalize on these key milestones too. With so much competition, it is more important than ever that retailers switch from a mass-marketing approach to targeted-one-to-one offers.”

Staying Connected: growth of digital and omni-channel
The survey indicates that with the proliferation of smart phone use and advances in technology, digital will play a more significant role in Christmas shopping this year. A third of consumers surveyed (34 percent) believe shopping with a mobile device will lead to better discounts and also help them compare prices while in a physical store. On Black Friday, 44 percent of consumers surveyed, said they will use a personal device – a laptop, tablet or smartphone – to shop, while 57 percent plan to use one of these devices to shop on Cyber Monday.

Further, more than half (56 percent) said that they would be willing to try or would definitely use a service that would enable them to pay using their mobile phone at checkout.

While doing their in-store shopping this Christmas season, many consumers surveyed said they would be willing to use new digital tools. In fact, 82 percent said they were using, would definitely use or are willing to try mobile services that offer them real-time promotions and offers as they shopped in store.

“Mobility is having a dramatic impact on shopping in the U.K.,” said O’Hara. “With over one-third of survey respondents saying they would use a mobile device in store to compare prices, it is critical for retailers to make it seamless for consumers to trade on mobile applications by incorporating social media and mobile technologies into their stores and multichannel environments.”

Privacy vs personalization
Interestingly, the survey found that while data privacy is a concern for some U.K. consumers (16 percent), 45 percent are willing to overlook privacy issues if retailers provide customized products or services during the Christmas season. However, U.K. shoppers this festive season are concerned with delivery times and rising costs: More than half (58 percent) are worried about receiving online deliveries on time, while rising home energy, food and petrol bills (43 percent, 40 percent and 24 percent, respectively) were cited as major concerns.

Additional trends highlighted by the survey:

More online shopping trends:

More trends in-store shopping trends:

Pricing and promotions:

Methodology
Accenture conducted an online survey using a representative sample of 500 U.K. consumers in September 2014.

About Accenture
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with more than 305,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US$30.0 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2014. Its home page is www.accenture.com.

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Contacts:

Molly McDonagh
Accenture
+ 44 (0)7825 023 622
molly.mcdonagh@accenture.com