Report predicts happy holidays for brick-and-mortar retailers

“[D]espite growth in online shopping — much of which is actually a result of traditional brick-and-mortar retailers' expanding their online capabilities — physical stores remain the indispensable foundation of the consumer landscape,” notes the Industry Insights report. “The importance of these venues is even greater this year, given a solid rise in the amount of shoppers planning to use click-and-collect.”

Holiday shoppers plan to spend $683 each, on average — $496 on gifts and $187 on other holiday-related goods, the report says. And they intend to spend nearly seven of every 10 of these dollars at retailers that have physical stores.

By age group, GenX-ers plan to spend the most ($787 each), followed by Millennials ($679) and boomers ($648).

As for when stores are likely to start getting busy, 63 percent of holiday shoppers say they will begin buying before Thanksgiving. Black Friday will still be the busiest shopping day of the season, followed by Cyber Monday and the Saturday and Sunday following Thanksgiving.