There is no doubt about it, people are out shopping at brick-and-mortar stores. According to a survey conducted by the National Retail Federation, more people plan to shop in stores than online this holiday season. “After more than two years of heavy online shopping, consumers are ready to get back to the sport of shopping,” said Marshal Cohen, chief retail industry advisor for NPD. “Despite saying they plan on scaling back holiday spending this year, sales revenue through October fell 1% below last year’s levels, which shows that shoppers are still willing to spend money on general merchandise, even as prices continue to rise.” 

The increase in shoppers heading to the physical stores this year will help retailers greatly. They have a higher chance of getting those customers to act on impulse and buy additional items that they weren’t necessarily looking for. It is expected that holiday sales will rise by a few percentage points this year compared to 2021. Overall, the holiday sales market will remain positive, and the stores will be busy with shoppers as it was prior to the Pandemic.

NPD: In-store sales have edge over online sales this year | Chain Store Age