Survey Shows 90 Percent of Holiday Shoppers Doing Last-Minute Gift Buying
By Christine Kern, contributing writer
Two-thirds of consumers say they will shop the week after Christmas
Ninety percent of holiday shoppers still have to finish up gift-buying for those on their lists, according to the findings of the National Retail Federation’s final consumer holiday spending survey of the season, which found that the average holiday shopper has completed 53.5 percent of their shopping, similar to the 52.9 percent seen this time last year. Just 10 percent (representing 22.6 million people) reported that they were finished with their lists, meaning that 90 percent of holiday shoppers still have gifts, food, décor and/or other holiday items to buy.
When asked why they had waited to shop, participants responded: they are still trying to figure out what to buy (44.8 percent); 28.8 percent said they have to wait for wish lists from their gift recipients; 22 percent are waiting for the best deals on holiday merchandise; and one in five (20.8%) admit they are simply just a procrastinator.
“While we witnessed an early start to the holiday shopping season and an extraordinary Thanksgiving weekend, some of the busiest shopping days of the year are still to come,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. “We expect retailers will be competitive on price and value options in the final stretch, including extended store hours and in-store events, as well as online deals and free shipping offers. Even an unseasonably warm winter cannot keep last-minute shoppers from putting off their holiday purchases anymore.”
When asked when they believe they will purchase their last gift, one-third (33.4%) said sometime before December 18, though 10.2 percent are planning to wait until December 23.
Gifts of experience are growing in popularity, particularly among Millennials. For the first time, NRF asked holiday shoppers about their intentions to buy and preference to receive a gift of experience such as tickets to a sporting event, cheese of the month club or an adventure outing like whitewater rafting. The survey found that overall, 22.2 percent are planning to give an experience-type gift and 36.5 percent would like to receive one. Among Millennials, however, the numbers were much higher: 36.1 percent of 18-24 year olds and 35.4 percent of 25-34 year olds are planning to give a gift of experience, and half say they'd like to receive one (55% of 18-24, 49.6% of 25-34 year olds.) Two in five (43.4%) 35-44 year olds would like to receive an experience gift.
“Giving the gift of experience is something anyone can enjoy and this holiday season, consumers don’t have to go far to find something perfect for the foodie, fashionista, thrill-seeker or sports enthusiast in their lives,” said Prosper’s Principal Analyst Pam Goodfellow. “With retailers quickly getting in on this trend by offering their customers ‘bundles’ for the perfect experience, it really is a win-win for consumers and retail companies this year to tout these unique gift ideas.”
And for nearly half of all holiday shoppers, the season doesn’t end on December 25th; they report that they will be heading to the stores the week after Christmas to finish their lists. According to the survey, two-thirds (65.9 percent) of holiday shoppers said they are planning to shop – both browsing and buying – retailers' after-Christmas sales. Specifically, 47.2 percent of shoppers said they would shop at a store and 43.1 percent will shop online that week. Nearly six in 10 millennials (18-24 year olds) will shop that week, both in stores (59.2 percent) and online (59.3 percent).
The NRF 2015 holiday consumer spending survey was designed to gauge consumer behavior and shopping trends related to the winter holidays. The survey polled 6,965 consumers and was conducted for NRF by Prosper Insights & Analytics December 1-9, 2015.