AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 20, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- RetailMeNot, Inc., a leading digital savings destination connecting consumers with retailers, restaurants and brands, both online and in-store (www.retailmenot.com/corp), announces the release of the 2017 Holiday Retail Trends and Guide. Ring in the biggest shopping season with a deep dive into when, where and how consumers plan to shop—and what retailers can do to win.

Download the full study at www.rmn.com/holidayinsights2017.  

Consumers Can't Wait for Holiday Shopping
RetailMeNot survey data revealed 45% of Americans plan to start shopping before November 1. Retailers are capitalizing on this earlier start: Nearly 80% indicated they will begin holiday marketing efforts earlier this year.

With "Christmas creep" comes the opportunity to cash in on more savings: 81% of consumers use up to six channels to find the best holiday deals and promotions. These include email, desktop search engines, savings apps such as RetailMeNot, mobile web searches, newspapers and recommendations from friends and family.

"For retailers, an earlier start to the shopping season means a greater opportunity to land in consumers' consideration set ahead of the competition," said Marissa Tarleton, CMO, RetailMeNot, Inc. "As consumers approach shopping through many channels, retailers should match their journey with nimble content and smooth experiences."

Longer Season, Better Promotions  
Echoing the trend observed in 2016, RetailMeNot expects Black Friday deals to start well in advance of Thanksgiving Day, and last beyond Cyber Monday. In fact, the holiday shopping weekend of Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday will likely now expand into two full weeks of deals.

Additional data suggests Cyber Monday is becoming just as important as Black Friday as it gains popularity amongst consumers: 56% of consumers said they plan to shop Cyber Monday deals in 2017 versus just 39% in 2016.

"With the expanded shopping season this year, Black Friday and Cyber Monday are no longer single-focus days. It's now a two-week-long promotional opportunity," said Tarleton. "Not only are these two days as important as ever, retailers must consider how to win the two-week period."

This year's holiday season also gives shoppers an extra Saturday before Christmas Eve— meaning the deals will keep coming, especially for last-minute gifts in-store. In fact, 4 in 10 retailers are setting aside more than a quarter of their overall holiday marketing budget for last-minute promotional activity. 

RetailMeNot recommends retailers plan to trigger special "pulses" of savings for maximum ROI. On average, RetailMeNot data shows the ideal promotional length to be about three days—and this data shows a 3x conversion lift when retailers combine short pulse promotions with longer, evergreen promotional content.

'Tis the Season to Spend
Americans plan to spend an average of $743 holiday shopping during the Black Friday to Cyber Monday weekend, up 47% from last year's average of $505. These shoppers are likely to be in stores early as well, with nearly half saying they're willing to wake up early for a good deal.

With 70% of consumers surveyed indicating they're planning to shop between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, retailers should prepare now to diversify their content and deals to catch attention over the longer period of time.

Though e-commerce and m-commerce will continue to grow this year, retailers will benefit from a strong omnichannel promotional strategy that draws shoppers into brick and mortar locations, where most retail sales still take place. Utilizing partner apps, such as RetailMeNot, helps drive in-store foot traffic in this busy time of year.

For more information on working with RetailMeNot this holiday season, visit www.retailmenot.com/corp.

Methodology
This data is based on findings from internal data collections from over 500,000 offers for 50,000 retailers, including engagement insights from millions of consumers. Forecasting models for 2017 predictions are based on data and stats pulled from historical shopper insights in 2015 and 2016.

Additionally, two surveys from RetailMeNot, Inc. gathered consumer sentiment and shopping preferences for the 2017 holiday shopping season. A Google Consumer Survey was conducted between July 31 and August 1, 2017, in which 1,015 U.S. consumers aged 18 and over were surveyed regarding their holiday spending and preferences. A RetailMeNot, Inc. May 2017 survey was conducted by Kelton Global between May 11th, 2017 and May 16th, 2017 among 201 retail marketing decision-makers using an email invitation and an online survey. Quotas are set to ensure reliable and accurate representation of the entire U.S.

About RetailMeNot, Inc. 
RetailMeNot, Inc. (https://www.retailmenot.com/corp/) is a leading savings destination connecting consumers with retailers, restaurants and brands, both online and in-store. The company enables consumers across the globe to find hundreds of thousands of digital offers to save money while they shop or dine out. RetailMeNot, Inc. estimates that approximately $4.4 billion in retailer sales were attributable to consumer transactions from paid digital offers in its marketplace in 2016, more than $600 million of which were attributable to its in-store solution. The RetailMeNot, Inc. portfolio of websites and mobile applications includes RetailMeNot.com in the United States; RetailMeNot.ca in Canada; VoucherCodes.co.uk in the United Kingdom; ma-reduc.com and Poulpeo.com in France; and GiftCardZen.com and Deals2Buy.com in North America. As wholly owned subsidiaries of Harland Clarke Holdings, RetailMeNot and Valassis, a leader in intelligent media delivery, are partnering to connect retailers and consumers through meaningful digital, mobile and print promotions both online and in store.

Media Contacts:
Michelle Skupin
RetailMeNot, Inc.
mskupin@rmn.com
(808) 224-3215

Chelsie Baugh
RetailMeNot, Inc.
cbaugh@rmn.com
(512) 387-8378

SOURCE RetailMeNot, Inc.