A third of Americans (34%) had begun their holiday gift shopping as of October 2010 —17% started in order to take advantage of deals, 12% to ensure they stay within budget, and 5% to take advantage of the larger selection available at the beginning of the season — according to comScore. Another third (33%) have not even begun to think about holiday shopping.
One in six (17%) plan to shop closer to the holidays when they have a better idea of how much money they can spend, whereas 16% have not started because they do not have money to put toward gift spending.
The vast majority of shoppers (84%) say finding discounts and coupons is important to their holiday purchase plans.
Nearly a third (31%) decide what gifts to purchase and where to buy them based on the available discounts or coupons. More than four in 10 (42%) search for discounts and coupons when comparing possible gift options and stores. Fewer than one in five (18%) decide on the gift they intend to buy and where to buy it before searching for applicable discounts or coupons. The remaining 9% claim they never search for discounts or coupons for holiday gifts.
Online retailers will have an impact on the 2010 holiday shopping season, with a significant portion of shoppers planning to visit such websites.
Source: “State Of The Online U.S. Retail Economy,” comScore, Gian Fulgoni, Chairman, 11465 Sunset Hills Rd., #200, Reston, VA 20190; 202-438-2000; gfulgoni@comscore.com; www.comscore.com. Price: Call for information.
© Copyright 2011, EPM Communications, Inc. May not be reproduced without written consent of publisher.