The 14th annual Accenture Holiday Shopping Survey also finds consumers choosing home delivery and minimizing in-store shopping.
As the retail industry gears up for its busiest shopping period, the COVID-19 pandemic is making consumers focus on their own health and safety and the well-being of retail employees, according to findings of the 14th annual Accenture Holiday Shopping Survey.
For instance, three-quarters (76%) of the more than 1,500 U.S. consumers surveyed said they want retailers to close on Thanksgiving Day. Slightly more than half of those cited the desire to give workers a well-deserved day off, with the remainder saying retail workers should spend the holiday with their families.
Health, safety and the livelihood of store employees are also on consumers’ minds, with 61% saying they plan to minimize in-store shopping to reduce health risks to essential workers. The same number said they’d be inspired to shop with retailers that demonstrate visibly high commitments to health, safety and hygiene practices. In addition, 41% said they won’t shop with retailers that have laid off staff or reduced employees’ benefits because of the pandemic, whereas 57% would be inspired to shop with a retailer that supported their staff and customers during the crisis.
“The pandemic has reinforced, even strengthened, the social consciousness and call for transparency we’ve been seeing over the past few years,” said Jill Standish, a senior managing director at Accenture and head of its Retail practice globally… MarTechSeries
