The results of the Deluxe Annual Holiday Shopping Survey are in and show steady gains for small businesses over big box stores as a favorite place to shop. This bodes well for the holiday season and beyond. Let’s take a glance at the survey highlights:

Approximately 1 in 4 (28%) holiday shoppers prefer a small business or boutique website, and the most popular method for accessing the website is their home computer (55%). One in five (20%) consumers ages 18-34 uses their mobile phone to shop. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is important, with half (51%) of all respondents saying that they do not go past the first two pages in search results.

Though “Black Friday” continues to be a cultural phenomenon, only 15% of shoppers do the majority of their shopping at this time. Forty-two percent (42%) of shoppers get it done earlier in November, and women are even more likely to be in the early bird group.

Reasons to shop at boutiques and small businesses:

• Over half (57%) of respondents decide to shop at boutiques or small businesses because it is important to support local businesses.
• The 18-34 year old age group is significantly more likely to shop at boutiques because of good prices (31% vs. 25%).
• Respondents with a household income over $100K are more likely to shop at boutiques for unique merchandise (62% vs. 49%) and the chance to support a local business (66% vs. 57%).

Supporting local business is a priority for all groups:

• A vast majority (95%) of respondents strongly agree or agree that it is important to support local businesses.
• The 35-44 age group is significantly more likely than the general population to strongly agree that supporting local businesses is important (69% vs. 60%).

Different age groups get ideas for holiday shopping from a variety of places:

The 18-34 age group is most likely to listen to word of mouth suggestions from others (82%), followed by ads in magazines and newspapers (66%) and search engines (54%). This group is also significantly more likely than the general population to look to blogs and social media for gift ideas (51% vs. 33%).

• The 35-54 age group relies on word of mouth (76%), advertising in news and magazines (70%), and mentions on TV and radio (48%)
• The 55+ group is most likely to trust advertising in newspapers and magazines (69%), word of mouth (70%), and mentions on TV and radio (50%).
• Respondents with children under 18 in their household are significantly more likely than others to use blogs, Pinterest, and other social media for gift ideas (41% vs. 33%).

Snail mail or email?

• A majority (86%) of people prefer receiving a traditional card in the mail. However, consumers with an income over $100K are significantly more likely than others to prefer an online or electronic card (12% vs. 7%).

Customers most appreciate a discount:

• The most preferred gift from a small business owner is a discount on a future product or service (47%).
• Consumers under 45 are more likely than the general population to appreciate a unique gift item (17% vs. 13%).
•  Hispanic respondents are twice as likely as the general population to appreciate a fruit basket, candy or other consumable (14% vs. 7%).

This festive infographic has all the details to enjoy:

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