'Black Friday,' the day after Thanksgiving, not only ushers in the official start of the holiday shopping season. It also is the date when people turn on their annual outdoor Christmas lighting displays, according to research from Unity Marketing.
This year Americans will spend $7,966 million on Christmas and Hanukah decorations, up 5 percent from the $7,587 million spent last year. "Christmas is the pinnacle of the annual decorating season. About two-thirds of American households will purchase new decorations this holiday season," says Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing and author of Why People Buy Things They Don't Need.
"New holiday decorating concepts give people a reason to buy each season. This year the hot new decorations for outside are lighted inflatables that depict various Christmas-themed and licensed characters as oversized vinyl ballons.
"For inside, the new looks are traditional ornaments rendered in new gem-like colors. While traditional Christmas red and green still dominates, decorators are experimenting with different color schemes, such as burgundy, blue, sage green, purple, pastels, and pinks, on one of their multiple Christmas trees.
"Many families today are going for multiple trees, with an old-fashioned family tree in the den, but more fashion-forward decorative trees in the living room, dining room, foyer, and other public spaces. And more families are spreading the holiday cheer to the bedroom too, with personal trees placed in each bedroom," Danziger says.
Ultimately there is only one reason why people decorate their home for the holidays: Decorations gives an emotional lift and stimulate a mood for celebration. Danziger explains, "People today are expressing a growing desire to use seasonal decorations to create a mood to enhance their enjoyment of different holidays. This represents a bright marketing opportunity for companies that bring innovation and creativity to enhance people's holiday celebrations."
To learn more about consumers' passion for decorations and how marketers and retailers can maximize their opportunities to sell to this market, Unity Marketing conducted a survey among 1,000 U.S. households that decorate their home for different holidays. Included in the survey were questions about their decorating plans for the coming Christmas 2004 season. Highlights follow.
About Pam Danziger and Unity Marketing
Pamela N. Danziger is a nationally recognized expert specializing in consumer insights with special emphasis on the luxury market. She is president of Unity Marketing, a marketing consulting firm she founded in 1992. Advising such clients as Lenox, Cartier, Herend, Crystal Cruises, Spring Air, Sears, The World Gold Council, The Conference Board and American Express, Danziger taps consumer psychology to help clients use consumer insights as their competitive edge. She is the author of the recent book, Why People Buy Things They Don't Need: Understanding and Predicting Consumer Behavior (Chicago: Dearborn Trade Publishing, 2004). Her new book, Let Them Eat Cake: Marketing Luxury to the Masses -- as well as the Classes, (Dearborn Trade Publishing, $27, hardcover) will be in book stores January 2005.
She has appeared on CNN's In the Money, NBC's Today Show, CNBC, CNNfn, CBS News Sunday Morning, Fox News, NPR's Marketplace and is frequently called upon by the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, American Demographics, Women's Wear Daily, Forbes, USA Today, Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune for commentary and insight. Unity Marketing publishes market research and consumer insight studies on the luxury market, jewelry, garden, pet accessories, home furnishings, gifts and collectibles, greeting card and stationery, tabletop, art and wall decor markets, as well as the Luxury Business newsletter.
For media, Unity Marketing can make tables, charts and graphs available about consumer holiday decorating and spending upon request.