Parks Associates Reports New CE Purchase Intention Numbers for Holiday Season
Daily deal websites are fundamentally changing consumers' holiday shopping habits, with 78% of U.S. broadband households having reviewed Internet-based retailer and manufacturer offers in the past 30 days, according to new consumer research from Parks Associates. Over two-thirds of consumers checked emails from retailers, manufacturers, or daily deal services at least once in the last month, making these methods more popular than newspaper advertisements.
The research firm’s Consumer Decision Process: Holiday Intentions study reports consumers visiting daily deal websites did so at an average rate of 10 times per month, ranking second only to consumers reading email offers, occurring 17 times per month. By comparison, those consulting newspapers for deals did so only 6 times per month.
"Consumers are actively searching for daily deals online, and retailers need to extend their presence beyond their own websites," said Tricia Parks, CEO, Parks Associates. "Daily deal websites such as Groupon or Living Social are great mediums for reaching consumers, grabbing more consumers even than Facebook.”
Consumer Decision Process: Holiday Intentions shows 2011 consumer purchase intentions for CE products, after a steep decline in the 2010 holiday season, have rebounded to near-2009 levels. Almost 50% of U.S. broadband households intend to purchase a CE product between early November and January 1, compared to 38% last year.
Consumers also are shopping earlier than last year, giving retailers a longer window to move their products. Still, consumers are wary of the weak economy, and consumer budgets for many popular CE devices, such as tablets, cameras, and GPS devices, have dropped since last year.
“Maturing product ecosystems and increased competition in key product areas are driving down CE product prices,” Parks said. "While retailers are relieved to see consumers returning to the marketplace this holiday season, they must offer deep discounts and spawn creative marketing to capture the increasingly budget-conscious American shopper.”
Parks Associates’ Consumer Decision Process: Holiday Intentions surveyed 2,000 U.S. broadband heads-of-household in November 2011. The research measures CE purchase intentions for the holiday season as well as year-to-date CE purchases for multiple products, including PCs, tablets, e-readers, Blu-ray players, and game consoles. The survey also tracks household services and multimedia subscriptions, product market share by brand, and brand image.
For more information, visit www.parksassociates.com or contact sales@parksassociates.com, 972-490-1113.
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