Coveo Holiday Report: Nearly 60% of Consumers Plan to Cut Everyday Purchases to Expand 2024 Gifting Budgets with Gen AI-Guided Shopping Experiences as the Innovation to Watch

Coveo (TSX: CVO), the leading enterprise AI platform that brings AI Search and generative AI to every point–of-experience, today announced a new research report titled, "Gift or Grinch? Unwrapping This Season's Shopper Spending Plans." The report, based on a survey of 4,000 U.S. and U.K adult consumers, examines consumer sentiment towards the upcoming holiday shopping season, from Black Friday and Cyber Week through the December holidays. The survey, conducted in July 2024 by Coveo in partnership with Arlington Research, unveils indicators of a robust upcoming fourth quarter for retailers, with 59% of shoppers saying they plan to cut everyday purchases in order to prioritize gifting budgets, and more than three quarters (76%) planning to maintain or increase gift purchases this holiday season.

Another major finding in the report is that the vast majority of shoppers can be swayed to purchase unplanned items this holiday season – 85% of respondents said they are prone to impulse buys online, especially fashion, shoes, and apparel. Furthermore, 90% of shoppers said they are open to being persuaded to add items to their existing online order, showcasing the potential for AI-driven strategies to enhance retailers' ability to cater to shopper preferences in real-time and increase cart values.

"Shopper enthusiasm and receptivity to persuasion are clear standouts in our annual holiday report findings, signaling that retailers have a major opportunity to capture a greater share of consumer spending during the upcoming shopping peak," said Lisa Grayston, GM Commerce at Coveo. "Consumers are going into the holiday shopping season ready to be inspired, which opens doors for retailers to lean on their technological prowess to convince and convert. Retailers willing to pioneer and experiment with AI-led strategies for delivering exceptional product discovery experiences and the most relevant offers on-the-fly are poised to thrive this holiday season and into 2025."

Additional highlights from Coveo's 2024 holiday report also include:

• Black Friday and Cyber Week appeals to consumers, especially for electronics, fashion, and big box shopping – More than two-thirds (68%) of consumers surveyed are planning to visit one or more retailers during Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Last year, Coveo's retail executive holiday study found that 84% of retailers felt that consumers can get deals anytime they want; nonetheless, consumers are currently planning to take advantage of holiday shopping peaks with electronics, fashion / apparel, and big box / department stores as the top three retail categories.
• Grocery retailers can expect a healthy digital boost during the holiday shopping peak – More than half (55%) of consumers say they plan to grocery shop online or use delivery apps for holiday meals and parties, and, of these respondents, 20% say this is an increase to their typical online grocery shopping routine. This trend is even more pronounced among younger generations, with 68% of Millennials and 69% of Gen Z choosing these convenient options.
• Digital offers and discounts reign supreme for most shoppers – An impressive 80% of consumers said they discover special offers via purely digital sources, including email, social media platforms, online search, and online marketplaces. The most popular individual response for finding deals in general was through online or in-store store advertising and signage, with more U.K. shoppers preferring this method than their U.S. counterparts (51% vs. 44%, respectively). Notably, only 13% of U.K. respondents said they learn about deals through print mailings/coupons, 14 points lower than the U.S. cohort (27%).
• Some shoppers find holiday gifting a chore – While 45% of U.S. shoppers (39% U.K.) said they enjoy the thrill of finding the perfect gift, 19% admitted to dreading the process due to the time and expense required, and 20% said they are indifferent, viewing it as just another task to complete. Overall, 61% of respondents said that specific site search categories such as "gifts for dad" or "gifts under $50" would be helpful when gift shopping online.
• Nearly a third of online shoppers are starting to look to Gen AI for gift guidance – An emerging trend in the survey data shows that 31% of shoppers say they would find an advisory experience powered by GenAI useful for online gift shopping with that number spiking to 44% for Millennials.

To download the report, click here.