Nielsen: 22 Percent Are Already Holiday Shopping

Entering the fourth quarter of 2014, retail sales remained sluggish and weaker than they were this time last year. Nielsen report consumer confidence in the U.S. has been trending upward; however, uncertainty persists, and many consumers still report feeling as though they are still in a recession. That uncertainty and a sluggish equity market could dampen spending this season. Spending over the next few weeks, however, should pick up for retailers, buoyed by positive trends in the job and housing markets, coupled with low fuel prices and lower inflation.

Overall, Nielsen expects Americans to up their holiday spending by almost 2% this year, and 22% of us have already made the transition from thinking about the holidays to actually making purchases.

Households with young families are among those already shopping this year. Of the 22% of households that are already opening up their wallets and purses, 30% of them have five or more members, and 32% have children under the age of 12. Households with just one member and households with no kids each account for less than 20%.

While Nielsen expects relatively flat retail unit (-0.3%) sales this year, dollar sales should rise about 1.8%. When they look at what will drive the uptick, a good portion of the credit goes to multicultural households, as many consumers in this group say they plan to increase their online spending and in select offline channels like toys and consumer electronics.

Overall, 10% of consumers say they plan to spend more this year than they did last year, and multicultural households account for 43% of the projected extra spending: 17% African-Americans; 13% Asian-Americans; 13% Hispanic. Additionally, fewer people plan to spend less than they did last year (21% vs. 23%, respectively).