Well, it’s officially upon us – the holiday season. In fact, I have to admit, it started even before the trick-or-treating ended in October (I know because I went into my local dept store Halloween evening for a present and they were setting up for Christmas!). Retailers, vacation destinations, and the travel industry started early this year trying to capture pre-season sales (I expect soon it will start on the 5th of July). However, there are some major issues facing consumers this year including toy recalls and travel woes.

Joining me today to talk through the just-released results from the annual Maritz Poll on holiday travel and holiday shopping were Kyle Langley, senior research manager of Maritz Research Retail Group and Rick Garlick, director of consulting and strategic implementation, Maritz Research Hospitality Group. I asked them to share the results of their poll and give us some ideas on what we can all expect – regardless of which side of the cash register we are on.

Some interesting findings from the HOLIDAY SHOPPING study:

>>>Average household spend this year on gifts will be $637
>>>1/4 of people surveyed planned to spend less this year than last (obvious reasons as to why most likely -- mortgage issues, higher gas prices, etc)
>>>Big winners in terms of places people plan to shop are WalMart, Target, and Best Buy -- the same top three as last year.

Certainly toy recalls have had their effect upon consumer buying patters this year. 22% of consumers said they won't buy toys from China. And it's been suggested as a best practice that gift cards be given not to kids, but to parents so they can ensure toys purchased are safe.

REGARDING TRAVEL...

According to the study 40% of people say they've had a negative holiday travel experience. Of those 83% were due to transportation issues which largely were accounted to airline travel (74%). These stats in mind, however, holiday travel continues to stay steady with nearly one in four people planning to travel during Thanksgiving (14%) and Christmas (17%).

What I found amazing is the difference between reality (consumers' experiences) and what the travel industry says to expect. The best example is wait times in the security line at an airport. Consumers expect to spend an average of 42 minutes, yet the TSA says it's really only about 15 minutes.

Notable from this conversation was the idea that if airlines would switch from an operational perspective to a consumer experience perspective, they really could differentiate themselves as a preferred provider.

This was a great show...lots of wonderful advice for both consumers and retailers, and two great guests to share the time with.