TransUnion Sighting The promised land

TransUnion Report Finds More than Half of Consumers Plan to Spend $500+ this Holiday Shopping Season; Shoppers Plan to Increase Spending for Third Consecutive Year.

Nearly a quarter of households with children plan to travel for vacation this holiday season, with cruises and resorts among top destinations.

CHICAGO, Oct. 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- More than half of Americans (51%) plan to spend more than $500 this holiday shopping season, a marked increase from the 36% who planned to do so in 2022. A new TransUnion (NYSE: TRU) report found that three in 10 consumers (29%) plan on spending more on holiday shopping than in the year prior, while only 16% say they will spend less.

Both data points represent the third consecutive year for their respective trends, indicating continuing consumer resiliency. The findings were corroborated by the amounts consumers plan to spend this year, with significant increases in the higher spend brackets. The shift was even more exaggerated in the drop at the lower end of planned spending.

Consumer tolerance for security depends on in-store vs. online
The past year saw several high-profile “smash and grab” attacks on retailers, causing many to place more products inside security cases to prevent organized retail crime. While the majority of consumers (66%) say they haven’t noticed or don’t care that more products are being locked up, one-third of consumers dislike the practice.

In fact, 15% said they won’t wait to have an item unlocked by a store employee; 9% will instead purchase those items online; and another 9% will generally carry a negative view of the store. These findings vary slightly across regions in the U.S., with higher levels of negative feelings in the Northeast and West, which have been more highly affected by theft and organized retail crime.

Consumers are far less ambivalent about online security measures as they protect the consumers as well as the retailers. In fact, 96% of shoppers have a positive or at least neutral view of additional security measures. Six in 10 (59%) say added security makes them more likely to shop with that retailer and 37% say they are willing to spend the time to verify their identity without it affecting their shopping habits.

However, there was one point on which both groups agreed, which is that two-factor authentication is the top choice for online shopping security measures.

About TransUnion (NYSE: TRU)

TransUnion is a global information and insights company with over 12,000 associates operating in more than 30 countries. We make trust possible by ensuring each person is reliably represented in the marketplace. We do this with a Tru™ picture of each person: an actionable view of consumers, stewarded with care. Through our acquisitions and technology investments we have developed innovative solutions that extend beyond our strong foundation in core credit into areas such as marketing, fraud, risk and advanced analytics. As a result, consumers and businesses can transact with confidence and achieve great things. We call this Information for Good® — and it leads to economic opportunity, great experiences and personal empowerment for millions of people around the world.