·        36% of shoppers went over budget on Black Friday and Cyber Monday

·        86% of shoppers return to the high street

·        Parcel locker collections rise in popularity

·        96% of consumers rely on social media to search and buy goods

·        Online checkout problems persist with 70% abandoning purchases

 Applause, a provider of testing and digital quality solutions, today announced the results of its fifth annual survey on festive shopping trends. The survey found that despite concerns about inflation and finances, 30% of UK and European consumers plan to spend more this year — although 76% plan to change their spending habits by paying more attention to sales and discounts. While 45% prefer to shop with affordable brands, more than a quarter (27%) have opted to buy more secondhand products, all of which is indicative of changing consumer shopping habits.

The survey was distributed in two parts, before and after the Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend. The most recent data found that 37% of shoppers stuck to their budgets over the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, while another 36% spent more than they had intended. Many opted for alternative shopping methods such as ‘click and collect’ and the parcel locker services provided by the likes of Amazon, Evri and Royal Mail. 48% of shoppers used click and collect to pick up their goods, while another 41% used a local locker service.

Regardless, shoppers haven’t abandoned the high street with an overwhelming 86% stating they plan to shop in bricks and mortar stores over the festive season. Equally, 91% also plan to shop online, with 54% preferring to use a smartphone or tablet as opposed to 45% who prefer to use a laptop. Smart speakers continue to lag behind, with only 4% saying they would use a voice activated device for shopping.

The influence of social media sites, like TikTok and Instagram, on consumer behaviour cannot be ignored. Only 10% said social media never influences their shopping, with 59% stating that social media often or sometimes influences their festive shopping. More than half (52%) use social media sites to research sales on specific items or brands, while 44% buy items they see advertised on social media.

With so many options available, retailers can’t afford to be complacent, especially when shoppers will not tolerate a poor checkout experience. The majority of shoppers (70%) will abandon shopping carts after a maximum of two purchase attempts, and only another 17% will try a third time. Also, despite the growing popularity of omnichannel methods (e.g. click and collect and parcel lockers) 38% would leave a brand due to poor omnichannel shopping experiences.

“If one thing is clear from this year’s survey, it’s that continuing financial pressures mean consumers are less tolerant than ever of poor checkout experiences. With more than half of consumers only reattempting a failed payment twice before abandoning a purchase, transaction errors are something brands cannot afford,” said Luke Damian, Chief Growth Officer at Applause. “As omnichannel offerings and payment methods continue to diversify, brands need to rethink their testing strategy to account for increasingly complex customer journeys to avoid losing customers this holiday season.”

The survey was distributed in two parts, first in November 2024 on general holiday shopping plans and experiences, and second in December 2024 regarding respondents’ actual shopping experiences between Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Over 7,200 respondents from the Americas, EMEA and APAC took part in the survey.