Survey: As many as 56% of consumers are shopping for the holidays as of Nov. 1

CHICAGO — As many as 60% of shoppers wait until November before they start their holiday gift buying, with 31% hitting the stores around Nov. 1 and 29% waiting until Black Friday. And as many as 15% procrastinate to the last minute to do their shopping, according to a survey conducted on behalf of Retale, a location-based mobile platform connecting shoppers with local retailers. One-in-four shoppers are on the lookout for gifts year round. 

 

According to the survey, 82% of consumers plan to spend the same amount or more on holiday spending as compared to last year, while just 18% plan on scaling back and spending less. When asked where they would do their shopping, 22% said online only, 24% said brick-and-mortar retail stores only, and 54% said they would shop both online and in-store.   

 

Among those owning a mobile device, 73% plan to use them for holiday shopping, with the most common mobile shopping activities of those users being finding deals (97%); comparing prices (96%) researching products (96%); accessing coupons (92%); finding stores (89%); and buying directly from the device (85%).

 

On average, 60% of these activities take place both in and out of stores as mobile devices are increasingly used to support both experiences. 

 

The top activity conducted out-of-store is buying directly from a mobile device (30%), with the most common in-store activity being the accessing of coupons (14%). The least likely in-store mobile activity is finding deals (8%) and researching products (8%), while accessing coupons (16%) is the least likely out-of-store activity. 

 

“During the holiday season, mobile is increasingly critical for shoppers, whether in-store or out,” stated Pat Dermody, president of Retale. “There is no doubt that mobile must be a part of everyone’s holiday strategy from giving customers an opportunity to find deals to helping them find your stores to buying from their devices, mobile is where it’s at this year.”

 

When asked what kind of device — smartphone or tablet — shoppers prefer for mobile shopping activities, respondents indicated the smartphone is the dominant format. On average, 47% prefer using a smartphone for shopping activities, with just 32% opting for a tablet. The top smartphone activity is finding store locations (61%), with researching products online (42%) the preferred context for tablet use, and the only area where tablets exceeded smartphones (by a single percentage point). 

 

In analyzing responses based on mobile platform ownership/use, Retale discovered a number of differences among Android and Apple users, specifically. Android and Apple owners accounted for 89% of those surveyed. According to the survey: 

 

Apple users (89%) are more likely to buy directly from their devices than Android users (85%);Android users (51%) prefer mobile shopping on a smartphone more than Apple users (48%); andApple users (86%) are more likely to spend the same amount or more on holiday spending this year than Android users (80%).  

 

The study polled 1,000 adult men and women across the United States between Oct. 20 and Oct. 27, 2014.