Shoppers Have Held Back but May Go For It on Black Friday

A new Oracle retail survey shows that consumers have barely made a dent in holiday shopping. While a September survey showed that 52 percent of Americans had already started holiday shopping or planned to shop earlier than usual, when asked again last week, 66 percent said they are less than halfway done with holiday shopping. This could mean big shopping surges for retailers heading into Thanksgiving and Black Friday.

Consumers are also concerned about supply chain and climate issues when it comes to Christmas trees. In fact, 22 percent are worried trees will be harder to find and more expensive.

“The latest numbers continue to highlight the unpredictability of consumers during these interesting times,” said Mike Webster, senior vice president and general manager of Oracle Retail. “Despite supply chain concerns, many people have a long way to go in their holiday shopping. Retailers need to be prepared for the surge over the next month, and carefully manage inventory and expectations with great transparency and communications to keep customers happy and coming back.”

The survey of 2,085 Americans in New York, Chicago, Dallas and San Francisco was by directed by Untold Insights from November 11 to 16, 2021.