Survey: 56% of holiday shoppers purchase last-minute

AUSTIN, Texas — More than half (56%) of Christmas shoppers surveyed typically have gifts left to purchase by the time "Panic Saturday,” the last Saturday to shop for holiday gifts before Christmas (also referred to as "Super Saturday"), rolls around. According to a new consumer survey from digital offers site RetailMeNot, nearly one in 5 (18%) Christmas shoppers surveyed admit that they've actually waited until the Saturday before Christmas to begin shopping for presents.

 

Unsurprisingly, this a more common practice for men than women (22% compared to 16%). In addition, parents surveyed are far more likely than adults without children (70% compared to 49%) to find themselves running to the store to pick up a last-minute gift at least frequently, if not all the time.

 

Much last-minute shopping is the result of indecision. More than two in 5 (43%) consumers who identified themselves as last-minute shoppers have waited until the 11th hour because they didn't know what to get their intended recipient. Another 30% of self-identified last minute shoppers waited to shop because they received an unexpected gift and felt the need to reciprocate. Financial reasons, such as needing to save up more money (23%) or waiting to see how much cash they have left (22%), are less likely to spur last-minute holiday shopping for these procrastinators.

 

Forgetfulness also contributes to having to rush to the store before it closes, with more than one-third (37%) of holiday shoppers surveyed forgetting to buy someone a gift and thus needing to shop at the last minute.

Nearly seven in 10 (69%) holiday shoppers surveyed would rather do their last-minute shopping offline than online, which is up from 2013 when only 62% of consumers preferred in-store shopping for last-minute gifts. The shift in preference for in-store shopping could be due to the shipping delays experienced during the 2013 holiday shopping season. 

 

What in-store holiday shoppers like most about shopping at a brick-and-mortar retailer is the ability to see an item in person (71%) and having the desired item in hand as soon as they purchase it (58%). More women than men in-store shoppers (75% compared to 67%) appreciate being able to see an item in person before purchasing.

 

Despite potential identity theft concerns around using debit or credit cards, nearly 3 in 5 (59%) consumers who plan to shop this holiday season would be willing to do so at a retailer that has experienced a credit card security breach in the last year. Two-thirds (67%) of these shoppers who are men are willing to make holiday purchases at such retailers, compared to about half (53%) of women.