NRF says only 11% of Americans have finished holiday shopping

Casual Living Staff -- Casual Living, 12/14/2012 1:44:15 PM

The average person has completed 56.5% of their shopping, up from the 46.5% this time last year, according to the National Retail Federation's latest holiday survey. Only 11.3% of Americans say they have completed their shopping.
"Having made a list and checked it twice, holiday shoppers have been out in full force these last few weeks, leaving only a few stones unturned," said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. "There's no question that holiday shoppers wanted to make the most out of retailers' promotions as early as they could, but as personal schedules get even busier these days, we know there are plenty of people who haven't even made a dent in their list yet. As two of the most important weeks of the holiday season, retailers will do their
best to pull in those final dollars with unique offerings and creative promotions."
More than one-third (34.6%) said they will complete their shopping lists at discount stores and 44.5% will head to department stores. Others will shop at electronics stores (23.3%), clothing and accessory stores (23.2%), grocery stores (13.5%) and outlet stores (12.5%). Nearly 46% will finalize their shopping online.

When asked which day they would purchase their last holiday gift, many of those who aren't finished shopping plan to wrap up earlier than Dec. 18 (29.8%). Ten percent (10.2%) will wait until the very last minute to buy their final gift items on Monday, Dec. 24. Perhaps not tied to any family commitment on Christmas Day or looking for next year's accessories and gifts, 4.1% say they will actually shop for their last item after Dec. 26.
"Last-minute shoppers are looking forward to the four-day weekend this year to finalize their shopping plans before the big day, making sure to research everything from shipping deadlines to the best deals on apparel, jewelry and electronics," BIGinsight Consumer Insights Director Pam Goodfellow said. "Budget-conscious consumers have taken advantage of retailers' deals all season long, even after a strong showing Thanksgiving weekend, and could even look to the days after Christmas to find treasures in the clearance bins or new spring items that arrive that week."

The NRF 2013 holiday consumer spending survey polled 8,333 consumers and was conducted for NRF by BIGinsight, Dec. 4-10. The consumer poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.0%.