Christmas shoppers focus on quality rather than deals

While discounts drove purchasing in the early days of the holiday shopping season, consumers are shifting into more thoughtful, quality gifts in the back half of the season as total spending growth slows.

U.S. consumers had spent $187.3 billion so far online between Nov. 1 and Dec. 12, up 6.1% from the same stretch last year, according to Adobe Analytics. Total holiday season e-commerce spend is still expected to cross $253 billion, which would be 5.3% above last year, with the growth rate slowing later into December as delivery in time for Christmas gets tighter.

E-commerce sales typically “slow sharply” from about Dec. 16 to Dec. 18, and then “decline rapidly” in the ensuing days, until Christmas Eve is the slowest shopping day of the season, Casey Armstrong, chief marketing officer for ShipBob, told CNBC. Armstrong said shopping picks up again on Dec. 27, which is typically the strongest day for ShipBob’s customers late in the season. The company is a third-party logistics firm that ships for small, medium and social-oriented brands.

For shoppers who are willing to order online in the back half of the season, quality, rather than discounts, is driving interest.

Captify analyzes more than 1 billion search events per day from 3 million websites, and it shows outsize search growth in apparel and athleisure brands including Alo Yoga, Warby Parker, Aritzia, Bombas and Quince into December compared to earlier in the season. Searches for Alo Yoga rose 256% for the period between Dec. 7 and Dec. 15 compared to the stretch from Nov. 28 to Dec. 6. Quince searches are up 124% for those same time frames.

“These gains point to a rise in thoughtful, quality-driven gifting as shoppers seek products from highly regarded brands” said Oscar Chow, Captify head of insights for the U.S.

RetailNext, which tracks in-store shopping, has also seen evidence of consumers valuing quality this season, even if that means buying fewer items.

“Consumers are willing to pay more to get those decisions right” said Joe Shasteen, global manager of advanced analytics at RetailNext. The firm expects this dynamic to peak in the days leading up to Christmas.

There is also evidence showing a shift toward gifting experiences and subscriptions as the season winds down. Chow said they offer shoppers a “deadline-proof gift.”

Examples include growth in interest in the later weeks of the season for Roblox Robux, Cameo Kids, Kindle Unlimited, Strava Subscription, Peloton All-Access, MasterClass subscriptions and the Disney+, Hulu and HBO Max subscription bundle.

Discounts are still available as holiday shopping winds down, but they’re much lower than during Cyber Week highs. Adobe Analytics said toys will see the biggest promotions, peaking at 15% off list price in December, followed by furniture, bedding and televisions at 10% off.

To be sure, there are discount-motivated…