Christmas shoppers are planning their own spending cuts this Christmas - tarnishing retailers’ hopes of a prosperous “Golden Quarter” – according to new research.
Four out of ten shoppers say they plan to spend less or much less on Christmas than last year – the survey says.
More than a third have already almost completed their Christmas shopping.
An astonishing eight out of ten shoppers said they would walk out of a high street store if customer service doesn’t come up to scratch.
And there is a gloomy forecast for January sales, when New Year VAT increases begin to bite.
The survey, by business intelligence analysts and mystery shopping company, Retail Active asked 2000 people for details of their Christmas shopping plans.
Retail Active’s managing director, Julian Chamberlain said: “Families say they plan to save on Christmas spending this year, wherever possible – with more than nine out of ten saying they are going to spend under their limits this Christmas.
“Times are tight and our survey shows that people are resorting to selling belongings to raise cash, dipping into savings and buying on credit.
“Competition on the High Street is vicious and there is firm evidence that retailers are bringing forward their January sale prices now in an attempt to encourage shoppers to spend and beat the January increase in VAT.
“The high street is highly price sensitive with retailers under pressure to achieve revenue forecasts during the “golden quarter.”
“The fact that more than a third of shoppers surveyed reported that they had already completed ninety five per cent of their Christmas shopping is an ill omen for high street retailers hoping for a late surge in spending.”
Eighty-seven per cent of shoppers said they would walk out of shops where customer service fell below expectations.
Julian Chamberlain said: “We send thousands of mystery shoppers to test the service and brand delivery of high street brands up and down the land.
“Customers are just not prepared to put up with poor service unless they have to make a distress purchase.
“There is everything to go for over the next few weeks and it’s still not too late to make a real difference to store performance.
We are offering retailers a five point plan to help them capitalise on the trade that is still out there and to maximise sales.
1 Front line is Bottom Line – focus on ensuring that your staff are motivated to give attentive and speedy service.
2 Are your staff up selling? Look for the opportunity to sell, Even up to the point of paying, customers still want to buy and are at their weakest when at the checkout
3 Perception is reality! create an experience that customers remember and want to revisit – consider how you will get customers back to buy again before Christmas
4 Price is important but service is critical – What can you do to ensure your brand delivery flawless
5 Provide focused training for your team and have systems in place to monitor service delivery and quality
