Things You Must Know About Consumer Trends Report | Q4 2021

Jungle Scout has conducted a quarterly survey of 1,000 US consumers. The survey focuses on consumer attitudes and behaviors and compares them to previous quarters, exploring the channels and ways in which consumers buy holiday gifts. The survey delves into how consumer preferences have changed over time and over time, tracking consumer purchases by product type, omnichannel merchant sales, and analyzing consumers on Amazon and Walmart platforms to reveal the lifestyles consumers are seeking in 2021 and predict potential spending habits in 2022. Let’s start with Consumer Trends Report | Q4 2021.

An overview of Consumer Trends Report | Q4 2021

Nearly 80% of consumers choose to shop online, with Amazon a popular choice

Of the consumers surveyed, 78% chose to shop online, and 46% shopped only online. 67% chose the Amazon platform, and 48% chose the Walmart online store. 34% chose other sites, including 17% who chose Target. BestBuy and Etsy were selected by 13% and 12%, respectively

Of the consumers surveyed, 54% flocked to brick-and-mortar shops, and 22% shopped only in brick-and-mortar shops. 47% chose Walmart offline shops, 14% chose Target stores, and 7% chose Kohl’s and Best Buy. 65% of consumers purchase a physical item as a holiday gift, while 58% prefer purchasing a gift card.

Most consumers have clear objectives

– 68% of consumers searched for product types using specific keywords (e.g., scented candles), but some also used broader search terms (e.g., gifts for mum) or searched for specific brands.

– 48% of Walmart online shoppers searched for Yankee Candle, and 38% of Amazon online shoppers searched for the same product.

SNS influences consumer choice

– Consumers prefer Amazon’s ad-free Listings.

– 47% of consumers would buy a gift based on recommendations from influencers.

– 13% of consumers say that after they search for an item on Amazon, they usually see an ad for that product on another site.

What most U.S. consumers expect in 2022

– 68% of U.S. consumers say they will focus more on quality of life next year

– 55% say they will make up for missing shopping experiences due to the epidemic next year.

– 46% of consumers have already confirmed their travel plans for next year.

Insight Q4: Holiday plans for consumers

Consumer trends in 2021

What are the most popular holiday gifts for 2021? Who will receive these gifts? According to consumer trends report of Q4, as consumers place their orders, physical products and gift cards are this year’s ‘star gifts,’ with 65% and 58% popularity, respectively. The remaining gifts are virtual products at 27% (e.g., various online and offline memberships), homemade, handmade presents (26%), subscription services (22%), and experiential activities (19%).

– 78% of consumers choose to shop only online, 54% prefer to shop only in offline brick-and-mortar shops, and 32% select both channels.

– 67% of consumers choose Amazon as their shopping destination.

– 48% of consumers choose Walmart online stores as a shopping destination, and 47% say they would prefer a physical Walmart store.

– Target rose to the occasion, becoming the third most popular online shopping destination (17%) and the second most popular offline destination (13%).

– When it comes to major retailers such as Kohl’s and Best Buy, consumers are more likely to choose their corresponding online stores. At the same time, more consumers are turning to brick-and-mortar stores such as Macy’s, Sam’s, and Costco.

– 30% of consumers who buy their gifts online say they would choose a local independent business.

The chart above shows where surveyed U.S. consumers get their shopping inspiration: brand-specific shopping needs (30%), search engine keywords (17%), social media platform content (16%), social media platform keywords (10%), and gift recommendations from various media portals (7%).

Meanwhile, 8% of consumers said they would buy the more popular gifts of the season.

52% of consumers said they would choose a gift based on the recipient’s wishes.

48% of consumers said they would like to surprise the recipient with a gift they hadn’t listed on their list.

22% are willing to buy the total price of a luxury item as a holiday gift.

5% chose to buy a second-hand product as a holiday gift.

13% of consumers said that after seeing ads on other websites that interested them, they then went to the Amazon platform to search for purchases.

How Amazon vs. Walmart shoppers search for gifts：

Specific brand intent: 38% vs. 48%

Product-specific intent: 68% vs. 61%

Using more widely used search terms: 43% vs. 46%

Getting a platform discount and placing an order: 45% vs. 41%

On platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok, there is a steady stream of consumers using items recommended by brands and influencers as holiday gifts.

Consumers get their gift inspiration from social media platforms: 56% of them from daily content posted by friends and family, 55% from marketing ads of brands they follow, 51% from marketing ads of brands they don’t follow, 47% from online celebrities they follow and 45% from special recommendations tailored by the platform.

Consumer must-do’s for 2022

Consumer trends report of Q4 shows that more than half of U.S. consumers said they would be more likely to participate in a large group event if on-site vaccination requirements were in place; nearly 20 percent said they would likely forgo participation in the event if on-site vaccination requirements were in place. The requirement to show a negative nucleic acid result to enter the event tends to dissuade most people.

U.S. consumers plan to plan their events next year:

– 42% of consumers say they want to invite friends and family to their homes.

– 17% of consumers plan to plan a wedding.

– 5% of consumers plan to start a training course.

Demand for the following products is expected to rise in 2022:

– Home office furniture sales are expected to increase by 157%;

– Artificial plant sales are expected to rise by 89%;

– Indoor carpet sales are expected to increase by 29%;

– Small kitchen appliance sales are expected to increase by 22%;

– Living room furniture sales are expected to increase by 11%.

Trends in consumer spending

Q3 Spending Report

– 43% of consumers buy more everyday groceries.

– 36% of consumers are buying more cleaning products.

– Consumers are also buying more vitamins and diets, supplements, clothing, beauty, and personal care products than the previous quarter.

– 27% of consumers are buying fewer electronics.

– 22% of consumers are buying fewer kitchen products.

– Since last year’s quarter, vitamins and dietary supplements were up 76%, home kitchen supplies were up 34%, and groceries were up 27%.

Consumers said that overall spending in Q3 2021 remained at current levels or decreased.

– 32% said spending had decreased.

– 41% said spending stayed the same.

– 28% said spending had increased.

In terms of total consumer budgets for Q4 2021, most consumers say their spending will remain at the same level or decrease.

– 34% said spending would decrease.

– 41% said spending would remain the same.

– 26% said spending would increase.

Retailers will see changes in both brick-and-mortar and online shopping in 2021. The following data compares the shops where consumers shopped at a certain point in time with the shops where they shopped in the past three months, is what the study found that brick-and-mortar shops may lose some consumers this year.

Consumer shopping tendencies

For most product categories, consumers who plan to shop online prefer Amazon to Walmart or other online shops. Despite this, Walmart still outperformed Amazon in specific categories, including alcohol, gardening, and outdoor products, groceries, over-the-counter drugs, tobacco, and accessories.

The categories that consumers plan to buy on Amazon are electronics, books, offices, daily necessities, crafts, household kitchen items, toys, and games. Competing categories at Walmart and other shops do not include tobacco, pipes, and accessories.

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