Most Consumers Less Than Half Done with Holiday Shopping, Trade Group Says

The average consumer has completed 46.5 percent of their holiday shopping, down from 49.5 percent completed by the same time last year, the National Retail Federation reported.

The group’s 2011 Consumer Intentions and Actions survey, conducted by BIGresearch and polling 8,402 consumers, showed nearly 37 million people (16.5 percent) had not even started their shopping as of late last week, while 7.6 percent say they have completely finished shopping already. The survey also found the average 25-34 year-old has finished about 50.2 percent of their shopping -- the most of any surveyed age group.

The survey found most people plan to complete their holiday shopping a week before Christmas. Nearly 32 of shoppers said they will buy their last gift before Sunday, Dec. 18, and another 10.9 percent plan to wait until Christmas Eve to finish their shopping.

Planning to take advantage of retailers’ extended -- and often free -- shipping offers, nearly half (45.5 percent) of those polled said they will do the remainder of their shopping online, the highest percent in the survey’s 9-year history and up from 37.6 percent last year.

“For consumers, the holiday season is more of a marathon than a sprint -- typically starting the season strong, pacing themselves in the middle and gearing up again in the final stretch, a trend retailers expect every year,” said NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay. “As the hours tick toward Christmas, retailers still have a few tricks up their sleeves to entice even the most extreme procrastinators looking to cross the final names off their lists.”

Nearly one in three (31.4 percent) shoppers plan to use mobile and tablet devices to help shop, according to the survey, which asked about tablet and smartphone usage for the first time this year. The survey found 31.4 percent of tablet owners plan to use their device to purchase products and 30.5 percent plan to use it to look up retailer information such as store hours, location and directions. Nearly 31.2 percent of smartphone owners will compare prices/research items with their smartphone.

When it comes to preferred payment methods, nearly two-thirds of consumers reported buying gifts with money they already have, with 40.4 percent saying they have primarily paid for their gifts with a debit or check card and 24.8 percent saying cash. Slightly less than 31.7 percent said they primarily used a credit card to purchase gifts.

Also, 31.4 percent of shoppers said they have already bought gift cards/gift certificates this holiday season, up from 29.9 percent last year.

 Give us your opinion on
Most Consumers Less Than Half Done with Holiday Shopping, Trade Group Says

Industry Professional Site: Comments from non-industry professionals will be removed.