State of the Economy is Impacting Holiday Shopping Plans

Two thirds (66%) of consumers report that the state of the economy will have some impact on their holiday shopping this year, including four in ten (41%) who say that it will motivate them to seek out bargains and coupons this holiday season, according to a new poll of over 1,000 adults conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs on behalf of Offers.com. While a third of respondents (36%) say that the state of the economy will not impact their spending, they are much more likely to say that they are worried and that they will spend less (27%) than to say that that they are confident and will spend more (5%).

•     Women are more likely than are men to be motivated to seek out bargains and coupons (49% vs. 33%).
•     In contrast, men are more likely than women both to say that the state of the economy will not impact their spending (40% vs. 32%), and to say that they are confident and plan to spend more this year (6% vs. 3%).

Gift Lists and Budgets

U.S. adults are fairly split when it comes to making a holiday gift list, with half (51%) saying that they do so and half (49%) saying that they do not. However, a greater proportion set a budget on their holiday gift shopping, with six in ten (62%) doing so, while four in ten (38%) do not.

•     Women are more likely than men to both make a gift list (64% vs. 37% of men), and to set a holiday shopping budget (68% vs. 55%).
•     Those who make gift lists also tend to be more likely to set a budget, with eight in ten (79%) of those who make a gift list also saying that they set a budget.
•     Among online shoppers (92%), those who regularly search for online coupons are also more likely to make a gift list (61%). These savvy shoppers are also more likely to set a holiday shopping budget than are those who search for deals less frequently or not at all (70%, vs. 62% and 49% respectively).

Many Searching for Coupons Online

Among the 92% of U.S. adults who make purchases online, only 19% say that they always search for online coupons, deals and sales. Nearly a quarter do so most of the time (23%), 23% do so sometimes and 23% do so once in a while. Just one in eight online shoppers (12%) never look for coupons or sales.

•     Those with a household income of less than $50,000 are more likely that those earning more to say that they never search for online deals and coupons (15% vs. 9%).
•     Women are more than twice as likely as men to say that they always search for such savings (26% vs. 12%).
•     Adults under 55 are also among those most likely to search online, with just over one in four (26%) of those aged 18-34 and one in five (20%) of those aged 35-54 saying that they always do so, compared to one in eight (13%) adults 55 and over.

However, about seven in ten (69%) of all shoppers say that when searching for specific holidays like Christmas, Valentine’s Day, or Mother’s Day, they are likely to look online for coupons, deals, or sales before making their purchase, including nearly four in ten (37%) who are very likely to do so, and one-third (32%) who are somewhat likely to do so. In contrast, a quarter (25%) report that they are unlikely to so do (12% not very likely/13% not at all likely), while about one in twenty (6%) are not sure.

A Plurality Shop throughout the Year

Among those who make online purchases, four in ten (40%) say that they do the majority of their online holiday shopping throughout the year, while one-third (33%) do so from Thanksgiving Day through Christmas Eve, one in eight (12%) do so from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday, and just one percent do so on Christmas Eve. One in seven (14%) do not do any of their holiday shopping online.

•     Women are among those most likely to shop throughout the year (44% vs. 36% of men).
•     Those with household incomes of $50,000 or more are more likely to do so from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday (14% vs. 8% of those with incomes of under $50,000).
•     Those most likely to report that they do not do any of their holiday shopping online include men (17% vs. 12% of women), those 35 and over (16% vs. 9% of those under 35), and those with lower household incomes (19% vs. 11% of those with higher incomes).