Although the latest report on U.S. retail e-commerce is positive, a new study conducted by Q Interactive reveals that more than 40 percent of consumers plan to spend less on holiday gifts than they did last year.
Among the 3,500 surveyed consumers, 45 percent intend to spend the same amount and only around 15 percent plan to increase their spending from last holiday season.
Of those who will spend less on holiday gifts, the 52 percent indicated the primary reason is they are “earning less money” and “have more expenses” this year. Other reasons for not spending as much this year include: “high gas prices” (11percent); “worried about the economy” (11 percent); and a feeling that “the holiday has become too commercial” (13 percent).
Even if nearly 80 percent of consumers report they will buy most their gifts at brick-and-mortar retailers, the Internet will still play a key role, however, as nearly 59 percent of consumers will research at least some of their gifts online and 19 percent will research all of their gifts online before purchasing them at an offline store.
Originally posted on November 14, 2007 @ 5:30 am