NRF: Almost half of holiday shoppers haven’t begun

Washington, D.C. –- A large number of holiday shoppers are taking their time when it comes to starting the task of making holiday purchases. According to NRF’s Holiday Consumer Spending Survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, 45.6% of holiday shoppers say they haven’t started shopping yet.



This figure is relatively flat with the 46.2% recorded in 2013 but the lowest in the survey’s seven-year history. The survey found that while slightly fewer people haven’t started shopping yet, 20.6% have finished 10% or less of their shopping, while 12.4% have completed about one-quarter of their lists and 2.2% have already finished their shopping for friends and family.



“Many consumers are going to wait and see how great the promotions will be later this season before making any commitments,” said NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay. “Retailers have reacted to this ‘wait and see’ mentality with fewer October deals and a much quieter entry into November, when we’ll start to see retailers ramp up with offers for exclusive merchandise, deep discounts and unique online savings opportunities.”



Apparel, toys and video games will be popular gift items this year. The survey found six in 10 (60.9%) will buy clothing and accessories, 46.3% will buy books, CDs, DVDs and video games, and two in five (42%) will buy toys.



Likely having loaded up on wearable technology items and new smartphones throughout the year, slightly fewer people will buy electronic items as gifts (30.7% compared to 33% in 2013). Twenty-four percent of shoppers will buy jewelry for a friend or family member, the highest% since 2006. Gift cards continue as a favorite for both shoppers and recipients as six in 10 (60%) will buy gift cards, similar to the 59.2% who planned to do so in 2013. In an October NRF survey, 60% of shoppers also said they’d like to receive gift cards, marking gift cards the most requested gift item for eight years in a row.



In addition, many consumers this holiday season will use digital aids to find gift idea. The survey found 32.1% say they will look for inspiration on wish lists, up from 28.8% last year. Others will conduct online searches (47.7%), discuss options with family and friends (41.7%), check out advertising circulars (34.3%) and email advertisements (20.1%), and even search Facebook (10.6%).



When it comes to how shoppers will pay for their gifts, nearly four in 10 (38%) will use their credit card, the most in the survey’s history and up from 28.5% last year; one in five (21.6%) will use cash and 38.4% will use their debit or check card. Just 2.1% will use a check, the lowest in the survey’s history.



When broken down by age group, young adults ages 18-24 are the least likely to use credit to pay for gifts at just 17.7%, and 65+ are the most likely to use credit cards at 56%. Nearly half of 18-24 year olds (48.9%) plan to use their debit or check card to buy gift items.

The NRF 2014 Holiday Consumer Spending Survey polled 6,593 consumers and was conducted for NRF by Prosper Insights & Analytics, Nov. 3-10, 2014.