According to the survey, more than 40 percent of consumers plan to spend less on holiday gifts than they did last year, with nearly 45 percent intending to spend the same amount and only around 15 percent increasing their spending from last holiday season. Of those who will spend less on holiday gifts, the majority - 52 percent - indicated the primary reason is they are "earning less money" and "have more expenses" this year. Other reasons for not spending as much this year include: "high gas prices" (11 percent); "worried about the economy" (11 percent); and a feeling that "the holiday has become too commercial" (13 percent).
Based on the survey findings, consumers who will spend more this holiday season are more likely to be younger, as the percentage of respondents who indicated they will spend more descends as each age group gets older: 18-24 year olds (33 percent); 25-34 year olds (22 percent); 25-44 and 44-54 year olds (12.5 percent); age 55 and up (9 percent).
TRADITIONAL STORE IS KING, BUT INTERNET PLAYS KEY ROLE
It will come as no surprise that traditional stores will account for the vast majority of holiday gift purchases this year; nearly 80 percent of consumers report they will buy most their gifts at brick-and-mortar retailers. The Internet will still play a key role, however, as nearly 59 percent of consumers will research at least some of their gifts online and 19 percent will research all of their gifts online before purchasing them at an offline store. Among the items most researched online and then purchased offline were electronics (57 percent) and clothing (40 percent).
For all consumers, the strongest incentive to purchase gifts online is free shipping and discounts (50 percent), followed by convenience/saving time (26 percent) and comparison shopping (18 percent).
BEGINNING OF THE SHOPPING SEASON?
In addition, consumers answered the age-old question of when their shopping season begins. Not surprisingly, November was the most popular starting month for all ages, with more than 40 percent lining up for big shopping days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday. However, it seems with age comes wisdom, as those 45 and up have learned that earlier is sometimes better, with 21 percent of those age 45-54 and 23 percent of those age 55 and up, starting their shopping in August or earlier. By comparison, consumers in younger age groups were far less likely to begin shopping in August or earlier: age 18-24 (6 percent); age 24-34 (11 percent); age 35-44 (14 percent).
In turn, last minute holiday shoppers tend to be younger: 19 percent of 18-24 year olds and 17 percent of 25-34 year olds will buy their first holiday gifts in December compared to 14 percent of those age 35-55 and 13 percent of those age 55 and up.
"The Internet continues to play a vital role in consumers' holiday shopping habits, whether it's researching gifts for friends and family or looking to save money and time on their purchases. And with 40 percent of shoppers slashing their holiday gift budget this year, shopping and savings sites like CoolSavings.com are going to be more important than ever for shoppers looking to stretch their holiday dollar through free shipping offers, online coupons and comparison shopping," said Matt Wise, president and CEO of Q Interactive, the company that owns CoolSavings.com.
