Fun Facts For Holiday Shopping.

With the holiday shopping season underway, Americans are flocking to stores, catalogs, and the Internet to find items on their holiday gift lists. The Direct Marketing Association provides the following statistics about how much people are spending, what they are buying, and how they will do their shopping this season.

Who is buying?

* Seventy-two percent of Americans shop from home, buying from catalogs, over the Internet, over the phone, or through the mail.(1)

* Seventy-five percent of women shop from the home or office, compared to 69% of men.(1)

* Fifty-eight percent of Americans shop from catalogs, and 51% have made an online purchase.(1)

* Forty-one percent of Americans shop both from catalogs and the Internet.(1)

* Fifty-six percent of catalog shoppers also shop online.(2)

How much will they spend?

* American adults plan to spend a total of $287 billion on holiday gifts in 2004 — an average of $1,338 per person.(3)

* Men plan to spend $1,489 on gifts, while women plan to spend $1,199.(3)

* Adults with children less than 18 years old will spend an average of $1,553 on holiday gifts, compared to $1,182 for people without children less than 18.(3)

* The average catalog shopper spent $150 per order during the 2003 holiday season.(2)

* Consumers and businesses will spend $143 billion on catalog purchases in 2004, an increase from $134 billion last year.(4)

* The Web will generate nearly $52 billion in sales in 2004, up from $41 billion in 2003.(4)

What do they buy?

* Fifty-seven percent of catalog shoppers buy apparel from catalogs.

Other popular catalog purchases include Gifts (51%), Books/Music/Videos (48%), Home Decor or Furniture (31%), Toys & Games (31%), Electronics (27%), Sporting Goods (25%), Travel Services/Airline Tickets (23%), Tickets/Sports & Entertainment (19%), Flowers (13%), Gardening Supplies (13%), Pet Supplies (11%), and Food (8%).(1)

* Books/Music/Videos are the most popular online purchases, with 51% of online shoppers buying these items on the Web. Other popular items purchased on the Web: Gifts (46%), Travel Services/Airline Tickets (44%), Apparel (43%), Electronics/Computers (38%), Tickets/Sports & Entertainment (35%), Toys & Games (28%), Home Decor or Furniture (21%),
Sporting Goods (19%), Flowers (16%), Pet Supplies (11%), Gardening Supplies (9%), and Food (6%).(1)

When do they shop?

* Nineteen percent of shoppers plan to buy all of their holiday gifts before Thanksgiving.(3)

* Thirty-three percent of shoppers will finish their gift buying two weeks before the holiday. Forty-three percent wait until the final week to complete their shopping, with 20% finishing the day before the holiday.(3)

* Men are more likely to procrastinate, with 48% finishing their shopping the final week compared to 39% of women.(3)

How often do they shop?

* Catalog shoppers place an average of 11 orders per year, making an average of three purchases from their favorite catalogs.(2)

* Fifty-nine percent of shoppers keep catalogs they order from for at least three months or until a new copy arrives.(2)

Why do they shop from home or office?

* Sixty-five percent of shoppers cite convenience as the reason they shop via catalogs, the Internet, mail, or phone. Other reasons for shopping from home or office include variety (41 percent), to save money (38 percent), and customer service (19 percent).(1)

For more information at http://www.shopthenet.org

1 – Opinion Research Corporation survey for the Direct Marketing Association, September 16-18, 2004
2 – Direct Marketing Association Customer Audit of Catalog Performance Survey, 2003
3 – Opinion Research Corporation survey for the Direct Marketing Association, September 23-25, 2004
4 – Direct Marketing Association Economic Impact Study, September 2004