With the holidays approaching it means more shopping is going to be done. During the Christmas season is when all the holiday deals come out. The discounts give people the opportunity to save some money when they are shopping.
Differences Between Regular Vs Holiday Sales
During the holidays, we have Black Friday which is after Thanksgiving. According to Statista.com, Flex Richter says, “ According to the National Retail Federation, Americans are going to spend between $979 and $989 billion during November and December this year, with average spending for gifts and other holiday-related items expected to amount to $902 per consumer. “ Many stores who sell similar products try to out-beat other stores by having better discounts. The months of November and December as mentioned before are the busiest months for retail stores, and are also the months where Americans spend a good amount of money and time. The most popular stores are Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores, with a percentage of 26.2%.
How Much do Retail Stores Really Discount?
During these popular times, Stores try to get you to get into their store by writing down a big number such as, 50% in bold numbers and colors, But are you really saving? According to this oag.ca.gov they state,” Signs saying ‘25% off,’ ‘50% off,’ or even bigger markdowns off of the ‘ticketed’ price are common, but the items may have never actually been sold at the ticketed price. In other words, the ticketed price could be made up, the products are always ‘on sale,’ and the markdowns are fake.” In other words, you have to really be careful and make sure what you’re buying is really on sale. During the Holiday season is when you can really save some money. duncangrp.com explains, “ On Average, in-store discounts fall around the 20 percent off range the week of Thanksgiving, and rise to roughly a 37 percent savings on Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Online Black Friday deals follow suit with an average 34 percent discount. “
Store Hours
With the Holidays approaching stores often extend their hours. For example, Target is a big retail store and they extended their hours from 7 AM – Midnight. It isn’t just Target that extends their hours but many other big retailers like Ross, Burlington, Walmart etc. We don’t know why stores extend their hours but what we can assume is that they do it so their sales go higher, because they know people will be doing late night shopping. axios.com says, “In-store shopping was up 17% compared to the five-day period in 2021, the survey found.”
Percentages of Shopping
Many Americans who shop for gifts for Christmas often tend to buy and spend a lot. We looked to Capital One that states, “ The average American spends around $1,000 for the winter holidays, most of it on gift shopping. “ 92% of Americans are planning to do Christmas shopping this holiday season. They also state, “ Holiday shoppers in the U.S. are expected to spend $296.5 billion online, accounting for 30.1% of holiday sales dollars in 2024. “
Can social media affect sale rates on certain items?
The most popular social media is Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and Facebook. With Social Media being so popular brands get really smart with promoting their items that they know the younger audience would love. According to Aubree Smith, in this Sprout Social article she states, “According to the Q4 2024 Sprout Pulse Survey, a staggering 89% of consumers say social media impacts their holiday shopping decisions. “ Not only do they get the attention of the younger audience, but people use trending items as gift ideas for their loved ones.
Best Stores
Many stores sell similar products, some cheaper than others. During the holiday season this techradar.com article says, “We’re getting closer to that December 25 date, which means Christmas sales are in full force from retailers like Amazon, Walmart, Target and Best Buy. You can find record-low prices on best-selling gift ideas, including appliances, toys, tech gadgets, and cheap stocking stuffers.” Amazon, Walmart, Target and Best Buy are so popular during the holiday season because of their great discounts. If you were to go Christmas shopping you would definitely end up buying from of those stores, since they’re so well-known.
Student Interviews
The first person we interviewed was sophomore Brandon Garcia. We started the interview by asking him during the holiday season how often does he go shopping? He said “Like twice in a week”. His favorite stores to shop at are Walmart, Target, Best Buy and Ross. The next question we asked was if he thinks discounts make a difference during the holidays? He said “Yeah some of them go up and some go down”. He thinks social media does not affect sales of certain items that go viral.
The second person we interviewed was Jaya Saetern. The first question we asked her was, during the holiday season how often does she go shopping? She said “not that often”. Her favorite stores to shop at are Garage and Hollister. Jaya thinks the discounts do make a difference during the holidays. The next question we asked was what stores do you think give the best discount? She said “Cotton on”. She thinks social media does affect sales of certain items that go viral. Her favorite thing about winter is the weather. The last question we asked her was if shes team Santa or Grinch? She said “Santa”.
The third person we interviewed was Faith. During the holiday season she goes shopping around once a week. We asked her what her favorite stores to shop at, she said “Bath and Body Works and any clothes stores. The next question we asked was does she think the discounts make a difference during the holidays? She said “yeah because usually if your spending a lot of money before it takes off money and you’re already spending a lot”. She thinks Bath and Body works gives a good discount. She thinks social media does affect sales of certain items that go viral. The next question we asked was what’s her favorite thing about winter? She said “Just the atmosphere and the weather. Faith is team Grinch.
The next person we interviewed was Jasmine. She only goes shopping one time during the holiday season. We asked her what her favorite stores to shop at were? She said “Victoria Secret and Bath and Body Works”. She doesnt think discounts make a difference during the holiday. The next question we asked was what store does she think gives a good discount? She said “ Victoria Secret with the perfumes”. She thinks social media does affect the prices of things that go viral. Her favorite thing about winter is the Christmas trees. The last question we asked was if she was team Santa or Grinch. She said “grinch”.
The last person we interviewed was 10th grader Laurice. The first question we asked was during the holiday season how often does she go shopping? She said “I go very often”. Her favorite stores to shop at are Target and Walmart. The next question asked was do you think the discounts make a difference during the holidays? She said “Yeah they really do help a lot because it helps you save money and because some people have big families. She thinks Target gives a good discount. Her favorite thing about winter is the weather and how everythings decorated Christmasy. The last question we asked her was if she is team Santa or Grinch. She said “Grinch, I love the Grinch, I love how just mysterious he is and mean.”
In Conclusion, Holiday shopping is something everyone enjoys. The holiday season is what people enjoy as well because of the money they save with the amazing deals. Make sure this holiday season you spend it with your loved ones, and enjoy the weather while you can.
