With the holiday season already on the horizon and holiday shopping moving to the forefront of many consumers’ minds, the next few months are primetime for businesses of all sizes to make the most of one of the busiest shopping seasons of the year. However, not all shoppers have the same destination in mind–with some preferring a local, small business and others opting exclusively for larger retailers.
Fresh CivicScience data reveal that 21% of Americans prefer to shop at small and local businesses compared to 22% who prefer shopping at large retailers. Meanwhile, 58% mix the two. Small business shoppers skew slightly more male and Gen Z. But those aren’t the only distinctions that set these small business shoppers apart. Keep reading to find out what differentiates those who shop at small and local businesses from those who default to large retailers (among those who make shopping decisions):
Reality TV Watchers: Those who shop at small and local businesses are three times as likely as those who shop at large retailers to say they would attend a reality TV show watch party.
Local Library Fans: While 14% of small business shoppers visit their local library a few times a week, just 3% of large retailer shoppers say the same.
Debt Plans: Small business shoppers outpace large retail shoppers in anticipating having significantly more debt in the next six months (18% vs 5%).
Beauty Changers: Changing up a beauty routine seasonally is twice as likely for small business shoppers as it is for large retailer shoppers (10% vs 5%).
Big Tippers: Those who shop at small businesses are more than twice as likely as large retail shoppers to say they are tipping wait staff, delivery drivers, and other service workers ‘much more’ than they were 12 months ago.
Clearly, those who prefer a small business are engaged in their community. However, they also display a host of unexpected behaviors across their spending patterns, indicating that a preference for small businesses is more than just a shopping decision, it’s a lifestyle.
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This article’s data comes solely from CivicScience’s database, which contains nearly 700,000 poll questions and 5 billion consumer insights.
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