Due to improvements in the economy, early forecasts point to a good 2017 holiday shopping season. Nonetheless, retailers still must be prepared for these two factors. One, what are shopper priorities? Two, how much will online shopping grow? The first question is addressed here. The second one will be the subject of a future post.

Consider these observations by Stephanie Pandolph, reporting for Business Intelligence. Also, look at the chart below.

“In a survey of 8,000 consumers by Trustpilot, 62% of respondents listed price as the most important consideration for their holiday shopping this year, with other top factors including customer service, shipping, and product availability. This indicates retailers will need to have plenty of promotions on tap to fully reap the benefits of this high-volume time, as price-conscious consumers are likely to be wading through a large pool of seasonal deals.”

A second survey by CPC Strategy sheds some light on how consumers are factoring in price when deciding where to shop this season: Nearly half of consumers said total price at checkout, including shipping fees, will be the most important factor when choosing retailer this holiday season. Customers also plan to price check while shopping in-store, with 32% saying they will research on Amazon and 23% turning to Google.