Deck the halls of local malls? Or tis the season to log in?

Answer:

1. Online (58%)
2. Department store (49%)
3. Discount store (48%)
4. Grocery store (44%)
5. Clothing store (32%)
   

Questions:

• Why do you think online shopping has a higher percentage compared to the other channels?
• Discuss the potential economic benefits and drawbacks of shopping at large department stores versus small businesses.
• How do discount stores manage to secure nearly half of the consumers' preference? What consumer behaviors does this suggest?
• If you were to allocate a $500 budget for holiday shopping, how would you distribute your spending across these channels based on the chart?

Here are the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.

Behind the numbers (Statista):

"After a year of high prices, high interest rates and high economic uncertainty, American consumers would have been excused to cut back on their spending this holiday season. That doesn’t seem to be the case, however, as both forecasts and preliminary estimates point towards new spending records this year.

The National Retail Federation expects consumers in the U.S. to spend an average of $885 on core holiday items including gifts, decorations, food and other holiday-related purchases this year, up 5 percent from last year's holiday budgets and just above the five-year average in expected spending. When it comes to where Americans will be splashing their holiday cash, 58 percent of people said they'd shop online while 49 percent plan to go to a department store. 48 percent are planning to shop at a discount store while 44 percent are going to make holiday purchases at a grocery store."

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Want to access more Consumer Skills-focused activities and resources? Check out the Consumer Skills unit page.

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About the Author

Ryan Wood

Ryan is the Partnerships and Adoption Manager for Next Gen Personal Finance’s midwest region. He brings his experience as a former teacher, curriculum designer, and sales and marketing professional to state organizations and school districts in supporting the implementation of their personal financial education efforts. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and earned his teaching credential from Saint Mary’s University in Winona, Minnesota. He proudly taught at two rural high schools in Wisconsin before transitioning to curriculum design at NGPF, and is now excited to be on the front lines in delivering the best possible financial education in the midwest. He and his wife have three beautiful daughters, each of which inspire him to share the impact of being sound financial stewards both at home and as lifelong learners.

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