8 in 10 Consumers Still Holiday Shopping

December 16, 2010

americanexpress-2010-holiday-average-spend-dec10.gifEighty-four percent of US consumers say they have not yet wrapped up their holiday shopping, according to the latest American Express Spending & Saving Tracker. Survey data indicates holiday shoppers will be most generous with their children this holiday season, planning to spend $341 on average, followed by their spouse/significant other ($189 on average). Interestingly, mothers ($72 on average) will fare better than fathers ($45 on average). In addition, 31% of consumers plan to buy their pet animal a gift, spending $18 on average.

Consumers Will Shop Small, Big and Virtually

Retailers of all kinds can expect strong traffic this holiday season with:

  • Nearly one-third (30%) of holiday shoppers saying they will make most of their purchases online.
  • Sixty-four percent will do most of their shopping in stores.
  • More than than six in ten (63%) plan to do some of their shopping at small business retailers.

Non-gift Spending Looks Strong

Seventy-five percent of consumers also plan to engage in discretionary spending on a number of items and services that are not gifts. These include:

  • A haircut/styling (45%).
  • A new outfit (35%).
  • New shoes/accessories (24%).
  • Manicure/pedicure (15%).
  • Waxing (8%).

Fight for Your Right to Party

The majority of consumers (73%) have plans to celebrate Christmas/Hanukkah with family and/or friends this holiday season. Most (62%) will either attend or host a holiday party, while eight percent will celebrate at a restaurant. A smaller number of Americans will attend or host a New Year party or gathering (43%). Seventy-nine percent of partygoers will bring a gift for the host/hostess, spending an average of $33.

Online Holiday Spending Up 12% So Far

For the first 43 days of the November – December 2010 holiday season (Nov. 1 – Dec. 13), more than $23.82 billion has been spent online, marking a 12% increase from $21.3 billion the corresponding days last year, according to recent comScore data.

About the Data: The American Express Spending & Saving Tracker research was completed online among a random sample of consumers aged 18 and older. The research sample of 2,031 adults surveyed the general U.S. population, as well as two sub-groups – the affluent and young professionals. Interviewing was conducted by Echo Research between November 30 and December 2, 2010.

Chart-Library-Ad-1

Explore More Articles.

Which Skills Are Important in RevOps?

Which Skills Are Important in RevOps?

9 in 10 RevOps professionals view data analysis skills as being important, a high percentage also don’t believe they need this skill for their job.

Marketing Charts Logo

Stay on the cutting edge of marketing.

Sign up for our free newsletter.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This