With holidays around the corner, some 70% 0f millennials plan to shop online on Cyber Monday according to a report by OpenX. This comes at the heels of consumer optimism about the future of the economy.
2019 Cyber Monday Outlook
More than 70% of consumers feel confident the economy will improve next year. Consumer optimism is expected to drive increased holiday spending, with an overall anticipated increase of 5% from last year.
Most shoppers across all major demographics are planning to spend the same or more as they did in 2018. Furthermore, nearly a third of all consumers are planning to increase their spending this year. Millennials in particular drive a large percentage of the total growth for the market. Ninety percent of millennials plan to spend the same or more compared to 2018.
The holiday buying season started early this year with 50% of consumers starting their holiday shopping by September. This in part is due to marketing efforts over the summer. And increasingly, consumers are now starting to plan their shopping at the same time. This is followed by 38% who do their holiday shopping between October and Cyber Monday.
The number of shoppers expected to spend on themselves is projected to increase by 70% from 2018- at almost $120/person.
More People are Shopping Online
The 2019 Cyber Monday outlook shows that more people are will be shopping online this year, and this trend has been increasing year-over-year. Most of the digital purchases are going to be on mobile, which is rapidly replacing desktops. This is because more than half of holiday shoppers report spending more than three hours a day on their mobile devices. In fact, shoppers will spend 1 out of every 5 dollars this holiday season via a mobile device.
The shift toward online shopping is also changing how consumers interact. Traditionally on Black Friday a day for brick-and-mortar retailers, the number of consumers planning to shop online is almost the same. However, on Cyber Monday, 70% of millennials plan to shop online, more than a 30% increase over 2018.
In fact, more than any other demographic, millennials will determine the success or failure of this holiday season for many brands and retailers. Millennials are the most optimistic of those surveyed about the state of the economy. with 77% of them feeling it will improve over the next year, and this optimism is translating into spending.
Millennials are planning to spend 15% more this holiday season than the average consumer, and 25% more than baby boomers. Compared to other groups, millennials are 50% more likely to say they will spend more in 2019 than they did in 2018. Of which 68% of millennials claim to be the primary shopper in their household, higher than the US average. Millennials plan to spend on average $990 on gifts this year.
How Millennials Tick
Millennials are the most connected demographic when it comes to online shopping. Close more than two thirds or 69% of millennials use their mobile devices to research gifts. This is 25% more than the general population in America. They report spending 75% more time watching streaming TV than they do watching traditional live TV. And some 84% of millennials use at least one streaming service.
most millennials (81%) make online purchases during the week. With 33% spending at least 3 hours a week shopping on their mobile devices. The period between 6-11 pm is when they do most of their shopping online (42%).
Compared to other demographics millennials are 50 % more likely to buy a subscription service such as Birchbox or Barkbox as a gift. And they are more willing to splurge with 40% of them say they are more likely to buy a big-ticket item of or over $500.
The Survey
The 2019 Consumer Holiday Shopping Report is a collaborative effort with The Harris Poll. This survey was carried out online with the participation of 2,000 U.S. adults that said they plan to shop this holiday season.
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