Eager to Strike a Deal While It's Hot, Holiday Shoppers Plan Plenty of Self-Gifting This Holiday Season

Eager to Strike a Deal While It's Hot, Holiday Shoppers Plan Plenty of Self-Gifting This Holiday Season --Internet, Smartphones, Tablets to Play Tremendous Role in Holiday Shopping-

Armed with savvy shopping skills and a renewed focus on value, consumers this holiday season will shop at a variety of locations and channels as they scope out ways to get the best bang for their buck. Holiday shoppers say they plan to shell out an average of $704.18 on holiday gifts and seasonal merchandise, down slightly from last year's $718.98 though overall holiday retail sales are expected to grow 2.8% during the months of November and December to $465.6 billion.

Additionally, nearly six in 10 holiday shoppers (59.9%) say they plan to take advantage of retailers' sales and discounts to make additional non-gift purchases for themselves and their families during the holiday season. The average person will spend approximately $130.43 during the holiday season to take advantage of sales and discounts on apparel, electronics, home goods and other items for themselves or a family member, up from $112.20 last year.

According to the survey, the largest portion of a consumer's holiday budget will go toward gifts for family members, with the average person expected to shell out $403.26 on kids, parents and other family members. Friends, co-workers and even the family pet can expect something nice this year as well; holiday celebrants will spend an average of $68.23 on friends, $216 on co-workers, and $23.39 on other gifts. Consumers will also spend on decorations ($46.73), greeting cards ($26.52), candy and food ($96.75), and flowers ($18.23.)

With wish lists in hand and a set budget in mind, people this year plan to shop around with a variety of retailers for holiday gifts and merchandise. Department stores, with unique private-label offerings, will see an increase in traffic over last year (56.9% vs. 54.5% last year), as will clothing or accessory stores (35.2% vs. 33.6% in 2010), drug stores (21.1% vs. 18.9% last year), and grocery stores and supermarkets (48.8% vs. 46.7% last year), and most will head to discount stores (66.1% vs. 65.1%.) Crafts and fabric stores will benefit from those looking to make personal and thoughtful gifts (17.5% vs. 16.1% in 2010).

For recipients, gifts small and large are expected to make big impressions this year. For the fifth year in a row - and at the highest level in the survey's history - 57.7% of shoppers say they'd like to receive a gift card this holiday season. Other items on consumers' wish lists include clothing or clothing accessories (50%), consumer electronics or computer-related accessories (35.4%), jewelry (22.8%), and personal care items (19.3%).

When asked which one factor will be most important when shopping this holiday season, sales or price discounts largely win out (41.6%), but customer service (6% vs. 5.3% last year) and quality of merchandise (14.6% vs. 12.7% in 2010) are continuing to become more vital components in consumers' decision making processes, highlighting the growing importance of value when it comes to gift and everyday shopping.

As the internet quickly becomes a destination for time-strapped shoppers, more people will seek out retailers' holiday deals on the Internet this year; nearly half (46.7%) will buy online, up from 43.9% last year. Additionally, the average holiday shopper plans to do 36% of their shopping online - whether they're comparing prices, researching products, or actually making a purchase. Online shoppers plan to spend more as well - the average holiday online shopper will spend about 22% more than the average adult. Adults aged 25-34, many of whom have small children and crave convenience, will complete 43.7% of their holiday shopping online, the most of any age group.

Each year, nearly 40% of consumers begin their holiday shopping before Halloween, and this year is no different with 38.9% of celebrants having already begun or planning to begin holiday shopping before October 31. Another 40% will begin shopping in November, 17 will hit the stores the first two weeks in December and 4.1% will procrastinate until the final two weeks of December.

According to the survey, 62.2% of Americans say the U.S. economy will affect their holiday spending plans. To compensate, consumers are expected to comparison shop to save a few dollars. The survey found 5.7% said they would comparative shop using their mobile device more often, up from 3.7% in 2010, and nearly one-third (32.1%) will comparative shop online more often, up from 30.9% last year.

Smartphone, Tablet Owners Plan to Research, Shop Using Devices
This Holiday Season

With more mobile applications for smartphones and tablets available now, consumers have jumped at the efficiency and convenience of these new shopping channels. For the first time this year, consumers were asked about their intentions to use smartphones and tablets to research and purchase holiday items.

According to the survey, half (52.6%) of those who own a smartphone said they will use their device to research products, redeem coupons, use apps to assist in their purchase, and purchase holiday gifts and items. Specifically, nearly one-third (31%) say they will research products and/or compare prices, 14.1% will purchase products, 17.3% will redeem coupons and 15.6% will use apps to research or purchase items. One-quarter (25.1%) of smartphone owners will use their phone to look up a retailer's information such as store hours and location.

Tablet owners are even more likely to use their device to aid in their holiday shopping - seven in 10 (70.5%) tablet owners will research and shop using their device. According to the survey, half (50.8%) of those with tablets will research products and/or compare prices, and more than one-third (34.8%) will actually make a purchase with their device. Tablet owners will also redeem coupons (21.5%), look up retailer information (33.8%) and use apps to research items or purchase products (21%).

When it comes to mobile shopping, young adults present the biggest opportunity for retailers. According to the survey, Americans aged 18-24 are the most likely to use their smartphones (72.2%) and tablets (86.4%) to shop for holiday items this year.

Men are also considerably more likely than women to use their smartphone and tablet device to shop for gifts. Two in 10 men (17.6%) and just 10.8% of women who own smartphones plan to purchase products, and four in 10 (38.5%) men with tablets and 31.3% of women with tablets will make purchases this holiday season.

The survey polled 8,585 consumers and was conducted for NRF by BIGresearch October 4-11, 2011. The consumer poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 1%. Using consumers' intentions from early October coupled with actual spending data from the U.S. Department of Commerce, NRF and BIGresearch have restated final per-person spending estimates for the 2010 holiday season along with the years 2004-2009. NRF uses the final estimates of per-person holiday spending each fall for the previous year, much like it does total holiday sales. www.nrf.com/holidays