PwC 2017 Holiday Outlook

From glossy print catalogs of holidays past to one-click shopping today, gift-giving has evolved to become almost effortless.

Looking ahead, the future might well bring artificial intelligence-enabled smart home assistants who anticipate - and fulfill - a gift list based on last year’s buying patterns.

But where’s the fun in that - the pixie-dust sparkle of the season?

For now at least, the lure of holiday felicity continues to beckon.

And retailers continue to up their game with digitally enabled stores, mobile apps, and click-and-collect options.

Long live the store!
In fact, almost 90% of consumers told us they will shop in stores this holiday; most of them will combine the best of both in-store and online shopping based on what they’re buying and for whom.

And also where they live.

For rural and suburban shoppers, click-andcollect shopping might well be an option, especially since some stores offer discounts, allowing customers to avoid shipping charges.

Once in the store, customers often end up buying additional items.

For urban dwellers, meanwhile, delivery is often a major draw. But getting that package the final step of the way to the shopper’s door has been an age-old challenge.

In fact, more than 100 years ago, one company launched a fleet of tricycle couriers in central London to deliver light packages at a cost of a penny each.

Explore key findings

1. Make it easy on me
From product discovery to payment to shipping, consumers are in the driver’s seat

2. At the holidays and all year, a community of commerce
The store morphs into a more contemporary version of its former self

3. Holiday habits uncover generational preferences
Young consumers enjoy travel; older consumers like dining out

4. Young Gen Z consumers forge their own path
Visual social networks dominate product discovery

5. Generous millennial dads put family first
Early tech adopters lead shopping via smart home devices

6. Home for the holidays . . . or maybe not
Off to grandma's or a winter vacation

7. Alexa, where’s my stuff?
More distribution centers closer to population centers mean fewer last-mile snags

8. Goodbye traditional advertising, hello influencers
Consumers want the unvarnished truth from their peers

Find out when and where consumers will shop, what drives their purchasing decisions and how retailers are preparing for the season.

For these and other trends, download the report.