It’s been said many times, but continues to ring true: the 2020 holiday season will be unlike any before. COVID-19 has elongated the shopping season, shifted consumers to digital channels, and changed what gifts people are buying and who they’re buying for.

To paint a clearer picture of what this shopping season will look like, Blackhawk Network surveyed 1,500 consumers on what their plans are for shopping and gifting this year. It then combined that survey data with an in-depth analysis of sales data across 50,000 U.S. merchant locations, publishing its findings in the Blackhawk BrandedPay Holiday 2020 Report.

To learn more about what shopping and gifting will look like this holiday season and gain further insight into Blackhawk’s key findings, PaymentsJournal sat down with Theresa McEndree, VP of Marketing at Blackhawk Network, and Ted Iacobuzio, VP and Managing Director of Research at Mercator Advisory Group.

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COVID-19 changed consumer shopping habits well before the holiday season

COVID-19 has already resulted in a decline in credit card use, and it’s likely that the decline will continue during the holiday buying season. “There are a number of reasons for that,” explained Iacobuzio. “People remember 2008 and know that it’s easy to get in over their head with debt.”  Meanwhile, debit and prepaid are on the rise, which is expected to continue. 

While no one can say for sure whether the modification in consumer spending and gifting is a permanent, it is likely that at least some of these changes are here to stay.

Holiday shopping began earlier this year

BrandedPay survey results revealed that the holiday season will be longer than usual this year. In fact, it has already begun. Instead of pushing a single day or weekend-long Black Friday sale, merchants are leaning into ongoing promotional strategies that last the duration of the holiday season. In McEndree’s words, the goal for these merchants is to “drive not mountains, but peaks.”

Consumers are embracing the elongated shopping season, with 20% of survey respondents saying they’re thinking about the holidays earlier this year.