Table of Contents
Issues in the Market
-
- Key themes
- Definition
- Retail sales data
- Abbreviations
Future Opportunities
-
- Christmas is a time for a little luxury even in times of austerity
- Marketing the Christmas shopping experience
- Meeting the need for multi-channel Christmas shopping
- Online needs to be profitable just as much as store-based retailing
Market in Brief
-
- Recessionary pressure slowed retail spending
- Dash for cash saw widespread discounting
- Major food retailers gained share of spend…
- …while household goods was the major loser in non-food
- Home shopping ahead of the market, yet again
- Clothing retailers struggled but young fashion and discounters did well
- Children the catalyst for high spending
- Not everyone affected by the recession
- Emphasis on practical gifts this year
Internal Market Environment
-
- Key points
- Weak trading exposed underperforming businesses
- Woolworths the biggest high street casualty
-
- Figure 1: Retailers entering administration, November 2008 to January 2009
- Promotional strategies disrupted by Woolworths stock clearance
- Decision to close a key issue
- Knock-on effect negative for some…
- …positive for others…
- … but terminal for Zavvi
- Stimulating sluggish spend – Sale days back in vogue
- Marks & Spencer double dose provided no quick fix
- Several other retailers used this mechanism as well…
- Know who your friends are
- Stimulating sluggish spend – structured discounts and product promotions
- Targeted discounting widespread
- …but some didn’t discount at all…
- Ensuring that it still pays to shop early
- Early on sale dates still in favour…
- …but last-minute shoppers also good for business
- Canny shoppers wait for the Sales
- More opportunities to shop late
- More stores open late this year
- Modest growth forecasts can become a self-fulfilling prophecy
- Underdone stock commitments worse than an undercooked turkey
- Online continued to gain ground
- Growth rates healthy but slowing
- Building free delivery into retail pricing
- Online not the safe haven that many have supposed
- More space means more choice but Britain is overshopped
- 2008 a bumper year for new retail space
- More business failures anticipated in 2009
Broader Market Environment
-
- Key points
- Banking crisis took economy further into recession
- Bailout of banks shows extent of crisis
- Tighter credit led to withdrawal of credit insurance cover for suppliers
- High debts and tighter lending affect ability to spend
- Rising unemployment cause and effect of recessionary pressure
- Job losses increasing
- Negative employment prospects further undermine confidence
- Crashing asset values further undermines confidence
- House prices dive
- Share values undermine investment returns and pensions
- Savers take the downside of historically low interest rates
- Some good news about
- Falling interest rates good news for tracker mortgage holders
- VAT cut a step in the right direction
- Fall in oil prices helps bring down cost of living
- Falling inflation boosts PDI
- Population trends positive
- More under-fives to buy for
- More people to buy for
- More households to equip
- More older people to buy for
Market in Context
-
- Key points
- The most important trading period for all retail categories
- Certain sectors most exposed to December trading
- Further weakening of December contribution
-
- Figure 2: Seasonal analysis of retail sales value – proportion of sales taken in December, by sector, 1995-2008
- Fourth quarter also lessening in importance
-
- Figure 3: Seasonal analysis of retail sales value – proportion of sales taken in fourth quarter, by sector, 1995-2008
Strengths and Weaknesses in the Market
-
- Strengths
- Weaknesses
Who’s Innovating?
-
- Promotions
- Presentation
- Products
- Places
Review of Christmas Trading 2008
-
- Key points
- 2008 – Outturn weak but not as bad as feared
- Food retailers and home shopping specialists outperformed
-
- Figure 4: December, year-on-year change in sales value, by sector, 2006-07 and 2007-08
- Food retailers strongest in fourth quarter
-
- Figure 5: Fourth quarter year-on-year change in sales value, by sector, 2006-07 to 2007-08
- Food retailers, home shopping companies and specialist non-food retailers all did well in 2008
-
- Figure 6: Retail sales annual change, by value, not seasonally adjusted, 2006-07 and 2007-08
Christmas Spending Patterns
-
- Key points
- Spending patterns lower than last year
-
- Figure 7: Perceptions of spending compared to last year, January 2008 and 2009
- Not everyone affected by recession
- Not all younger people immune from recession
- Evidence of cutting back among affluent consumers
- Less affluent and retireds hardest hit
- Who spent what?
-
- Figure 8: Amount spent at Christmas on gifts for close friends and family, January 2009
-
- Figure 9: Average spend on close family and friends for Christmas 2008, by demographics, January 2009
- Many young people are low spenders
- Middle ground populated by broad-based group
- High expenditure groups led by families
- Internet users marginally more likely to be higher spenders
Christmas Gifting Patterns
-
- Key points
- What were the most popular gifts?
-
- Figure 10: Comparison of purchasing of gifts, January 2008 and January 2009
- Practicality counts
- Easy gift solutions are popular
- Charities not being forgotten in the recession
- Who bought what
-
- Figure 11: Profile of those buying the top five gifts at Christmas, January 2009
- Get the message across to women
- Money talks but gift cards could be made more attractive
- Linking with charities at Christmas time
- Internet use increasingly significant
Christmas Shopping Attitudes and Behaviour
-
- Key points
- Attitudes and behaviour when gift shopping
-
- Figure 12: Comparison of attitudes towards Christmas gift shopping, January 2008 and January 2009
- Discount days attracted high-spending consumers
- More early bird shoppers this year…
- …but online less successful at attracting early birds
- ABC1 pre-/no family adults continuing to overspend
- Fewer squirrels this year
Impact of Online on Christmas Shopping Behaviour
-
- Key points
- Online continuing to grow in importance
-
- Figure 13: Usage of the internet for christmas shopping, january 2008 and January 2009
- It’s a multi-channel world
- High levels of satisfaction
- Many users not using online for gift buying, price comparison, or ideas
- Room for improvement
- Secret sales need to be a badly-kept secret
- Fulfilment remains a stumbling block
Christmas Shopper Typologies
-
- Key points
- Identifying targets
- Four types of Christmas shopper
-
- Figure 14: Size of Christmas shopping attitudinal groups, January 2009
- Who are they?
-
- Figure 15: A summary of the attitudinal groups, January 2009
- Savvy shoppers – 29% of the sample – the primary target
-
- Figure 16: Variation from average spend, by attitudinal group, January 2009
- Laissez-faire – 18% of the sample – give them ideas
- Leave it late – 23% of the sample – cash management an issue
- Be prepared – 31% of the sample – significant but hard to motivate
-
- Figure 17: Attitudinal groups and their agreement on key statements, January 2009
Retail Competitor Analysis
-
- Key points
- All retail sales
- Predominantly food retailers – includes all food, drink and tobacco specialists
- Predominantly non-food retailers
- Mixed goods – Non-specialised non-food stores
- Clothing and footwear stores
- Household goods stores
- All other non-food specialists
- Jewellers:
- Sports and leisure:
- Music and entertainment retailers:
- Toys and games retailers:
- Other miscellaneous non-food retailers
- Non-store retailing
Appendix – Christmas Spending Patterns
-
-
- Figure 18: Perceptions of spending compared to last year, January 2009
- Figure 19: Perceptions of spending compared to last year by gender, age, social grade, ITV region, working status, marital status, presence of children, lifestage, special groups and supermarket used, January 2009
-
- Figure 20: Spending on Christmas gifts for close family and friends, January 2009
- Figure 21: Spending on Christmas gift for close family and friends, by gender, age, social grade, ITV region, working status, marital status, presence of children, lifestage, special groups and supermarket used, January 2009
-
Appendix – Christmas Gifting Patterns
-
-
- Figure 22: Items bought as Christmas gifts, by demogrphic sub-group, by gender, age, social grade, ITV region, working status, marital status, presence of children, lifestage, special groups and supermarket used, January 2009
- Figure 23: Items bought as Christmas gifts, by demogrphic sub-group, by gender, age, social grade, ITV region, working status, marital status, presence of children, lifestage, special groups and supermarket used, January 2009
-
- Figure 24: Items bought as Christmas gifts, by demogrphic sub-group, by gender, age, social grade, ITV region, working status, marital status, presence of children, lifestage, special groups and supermarket used, January 2009
-
Appendix – Christmas Shopping Attitudes and Behaviour
-
-
- Figure 25: Shopping behaviour at Christmas, by demographic sub-group, January 2009
- Figure 26: Shopper behaviour at Christmas, by demographic sub-group, January 2009
-
- Figure 27: Shopper behaviour at Christmas, by demographic sub-group, January 2009
- Figure 28: Average spend on close family and friends for Christmas, by general attitudes towards Christmas shopping, January 2009
-
Appendix – Impact of Online on Christmas Shopping Behaviour
-
-
- Figure 29: Christmas shopping and the internet, January 2009
- Figure 30: Christmas shopping and the internet, by demogrphic sub-group, January 2009
-
- Figure 31: Christmas shopping and the internet, by demogrphic sub-group, January 2009
- Figure 32: Average spend on close family and friends for Christmas, by attitudes towards Christmas shopping and the internet, January 2009
-
Appendix – Christmas Shopper Typologies
-
-
- Figure 33: Attitudinal groups and their general attitudes towards Christmas shopping, January 2009
- Figure 34: Attitudinal groups, by detailed demographics, January 2009
-
- Figure 35: Attitudinal groups and what they bought for Christmas, January 2009
- Figure 36: Attitudinal groups and how their spending for Christmas 2008 differed compared to the previous year, January 2009
-
- Figure 37: Attitudinal groups and their attitudes towards Christmas shopping and the internet, January 2009
-
Back to top