INDIANA – It may be hard to believe, but the holidays will be here before you know it — Saturday, September 16 marks 100 days until Christmas.
According to a recent survey conducted by TopCashback.com report over one in ten (11%) Americans will start their holiday shopping in September.
The survey polled a cross-section of 1,756 US-based adults, aged 18 and over.
Of those polled 79 percent said they were looking forward to the holiday season while 21 percent said they were not. 88 percent will be purchasing gifts while 12 percent will be more like Scrooge with no gift-giving.
Many don’t think they are financially prepared. 45 percent of those polled said they were not ready while 55 percent said they were. Most do create a budget for their holiday spending at 51 percent while 49 percent don’t.
Most say they will spend the same amount this year as last at 53 percent. 32 percent said they will be spending less and only 15 percent said they will be spending more.
How much do you plan to spend on gifts per person? 38 percent of those polled will spend between $25 to $50 per person, 28 percent will spend $51 to $100 per person, 12 percent will spend $101 to $200 per person with only eight percent will spend more than $200. 14 percent will spend less than $25 a person.
Many said those gifts would be a surprise with only 16 percent knowing what they would receive.
Gift cards are topping the list of gifts with 88 percent of those polled.4
The art of gift wrapping is not popular. 54 percent said they will be using gift bags while 46 percent will wrestle with the tape and wrapping paper.
Most people polled will be traveling this holiday season with 64 percent planning a trip and 36 percent staying home. 54 percent will be packing their bags to travel out of state, 25 percent will visit another country and 21 percent will travel to another town. Of those traveling 53 percent will be booking airline tickets, 43 percent will be traveling by car and four percent will take a cruise, bus, or train.
With the holidays comes stress.
Here is what those polled feel was the most stressful.
- Shopping for gifts (53%)
- Holiday meals [cooking/baking] (27%)
- Traveling (26%)
- Spending time with family [immediate or extended] (21%)
- Decorating (20%)
- Other [please specify] (9%)
Those who stress over the perfect gift said this is a concern:
- Finding the perfect gifts people will actually like (73%)
- Looking for the best deals/sales (55%)
- Spending too much money or going into debt (39%)
- Saving enough money for gifts (36%)
- Crowded stores/long lines (35%)
- Whether the gift[s] will arrive on time (24%)
- Looking for out-of-stock items (12%)
- Other [please specify] (1%)
68 percent of shoppers said they would research for the best sales and prices. 45 percent said they will compose a list of everything they need to buy. Only 45 percent said they shop for the perfect gifts throughout the year.
51 percent of those polled will wait for Black Friday and Holiday sales before purchasing a gift.
Most, 32 percent will begin holiday shopping in November, 19 percent will start in October, 11 percent start in September, seven percent will wait until December, 26 percent have already started their holiday shopping, and five percent have finished.
Most will do their shopping online, 85 percent while 15 percent will hit the stores.
Many, 76 percent will shop Black Friday, 74 percent on Cyber Monday, and 40 percent on Cyber Tuesday. Others, 48 percent will shop the Saturday after Thanksgiving and 44 percent the first week of December.
It seems gifts will be what those polled will overspend the most on. 19 percent said they would overspend on food and beverages, 12 percent on travel. Seven percent said they would overspend on fun activities like ice skating, skiing, and attending holiday light shows. Only three percent said they would overspend on holiday decorations.
Holiday decor is already in many stores way before the holiday season.
59 percent said they would rather stores, radio stations, and other businesses not begin playing holiday music until after Thanksgiving. Others, 20 percent, said to wait until December. One percent said after Halloween was okay while five percent said anytime throughout the year was okay with them.
