Survey: Consumers push back holiday shopping

WASHINGTON More consumers are procrastinating with their holiday shopping this year. According to NRF’s 2008 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch, the average person had completed 47.1% of their holiday shopping by the second week of December, about 10% less than the 52.6% average completed by this time last year.

The survey also found that over 41 million people have not started holiday shopping, with the biggest procrastinators being men (20.7% haven’t started) and 35-44 year-olds (20.9%). Only 8% of shoppers say they have completely finished their shopping.

“Procrastinators are in good company this year because a shorter window between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year means that the holidays have snuck up on many of us,” said NRF president and ceo Tracy Mullin. “Retailers will try to manage the rush of last-minute shoppers with expanded hours, extra employees to stock shelves, and a lot of sales and promotions.”