Nielsen Forecasts “Season to Celebrate” But Not For Jewelers
October 11, 12
(IDEX Online News) – Although Nielson is predicting a potentially strong 2012 holiday season, the global information and measurement company’s optimism is not stretching to the jewelry category, which it singles out in its Holiday Shopping Survey as the one sector that will not show improvements in consumer spending.
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With most households planning on spending $250-$500 it’s not surprising that jewelry is not top of people’s wish lists. Topping the list of items positioned to do well are gift cards and tech products.
Except for jewelry, every category including toys, apparel, video games, books, cookware/kitchen and sporting goods showed modest improvements in consumer plans to buy more than in years past.
“With nearly a quarter of consumers indicating they have already started their holiday shopping by mid-September, I expect ‘pragmatic enthusiasm’ to inch spending levels higher than last year,” said James Russo, vice president, global consumer insights, Nielsen.
“Overall, this could be a season to celebrate. Nielsen’s Consumer Confidence Index is the highest since before the recession. Planned shopping-list usage is down so impulse buying could be up, and shoppers across the income spectrum say they plan to spend more in multiple areas.”
The number of respondents saying they plan to spend more with online retailers leads all channels at 18 percent, up from almost 13 percent last year. Consumers saying they will spend more at mass merchandisers doubled this year to 12 percent in 2012, from six percent in 2011 and 2010.
Although almost six out of every 10 consumers (59 percent) reported plans to spend the same as last year, there is a 10-point drop (from 37 percent in 2011 to 27 percent in 2012) in the number of people expecting to spend less. Eight percent of respondents reported plans to spend more this holiday season, up from 5 percent in 2011 and 2010.