Consumers are on the ball this year: they’re comparison shopping online, looking to loyalty programs and not planning to finance holiday spending this year.
That’s what TD Bank’s holiday retail report finds, as well as other shopping strategies consumers are pursuing to save themselves money or rack up rewards. While 66% don’t plan to finance any purchases, those who do will do so with a bank-offered credit card (71%), a store credit card (57%) or a store-backed payment plan (39%).
The average consumer will spend $530 on holiday shopping this year, according to the bank.
And while credit cards can provide users with rewards for all that shopping, 36% of Americans plan to use debit cards instead — although 61% of respondents said they’d rely on financing to do their shopping if it resulted in significant savings.
What’s hot on their lists? Gift cards (28%), technology/gadgets (25%) and clothes (19%), and the likelihood is that they’ll be brands the shoppers already know and love — with 85% saying that they’re somewhat or completely loyal to the brands they buy all year when it comes to holiday shopping. Millennials are more loyal than Gen Xers, with 45% sticking to the old familiars, compared with 21%.