Consumer Reports Poll: 65 Percent of Consumers Expect to Cut Back on Holiday Spending

/PRNewswire/ -- The effects of ongoing economic turbulence continue to weigh heavily on the pocketbooks and minds of shoppers as the 2009 holiday season approaches. According to a new Consumer Reports Holiday Shopping Poll, 65 percent of Americans plan to cut back on overall holiday expenses such as gifts, travel, and entertaining. The full results of this latest poll are available at www.ConsumerReports.org.

The anticipated decrease in spending comes on top of already dramatic cutbacks that occurred last year. In the 2008 Consumer Reports Holiday Shopping Poll, 76 percent of those surveyed said they were scaling back on holiday spending.

The projected decrease in spending is likely to be felt in almost every category. Those surveyed said they're cutting back on purchases of clothing and electronics (still the biggest seasonal gift categories), as well as other items such as gift cards, monetary presents, and jewelry.

Consistent with 2008's findings, Consumer Reports Holiday Shopping Poll also found that some consumers are still saddled with leftover holiday debt. Six percent of Americans--some 13.5 million consumers--continue to carry debt from last winter's holiday season.

"This year, it all comes down to value and getting the best bang for your shopping dollar," said Tod Marks, Consumer Reports senior editor and resident shopping expert. "We've already seen aggressive discounts that make it seem more like November 28 rather than October 28, but retailers are getting more sophisticated about targeting their promotions to their best customers."

Additional findings from the Consumer Reports Holiday Shopping Poll include:

The Gift List: Who's In? Who's Out?

-- Among consumers scaling back on gifts, most (78%) were willing to cut
back on buying for themselves, followed by friends and their families,
other family members, coworkers, and service providers like delivery
personnel and fitness trainers. Among those most likely to be spared
from the budgetary axe: Grandparents, grandchildren, kids under 18,
and the family pet.

A Few Favorite Things

-- Despite the gloomy outlook sales of certain products - notably
desktop, laptop, and netbook computers, cell phones and smart phones,
video game systems, and GPS systems - are expected to at least hold
their own, according to our poll.

Hitting the Stores
-- Similar to the past two holiday shopping seasons, the 2009 holiday
shopping season has begun with about a third of consumers reporting
that they have started their shopping as of mid-October.

-- Only about half (46%) of consumers anticipate they will be done buying
gifts by the second week in December. Approximately 18 percent say
they will push their holiday shopping right up to December 24th. About
4 percent of consumers don't plan to complete their shopping until
after the holidays.

Sticking to a Budget or Not?

-- This year, half (50%) of Americans will be making a budget for their
holiday purchases, yet sticking to it is bound to be a challenge. Of
the 38 percent of consumers who made a budget last year, 44 percent
reported that they exceeded it; five percent said they went way over
budget.

Most (& Least) Wanted Gifts
-- Clothing remains the biggest category, and 52 percent of consumers
plan to give apparel as a gift. But you might want to choose
carefully. Thirty-seven percent of recipients - particularly men -
cited clothes as their biggest gift disappointment of 2008. Socks were
still the single most hated item, but shirts, sweaters, slippers, and
ties, made the list, too.
-- Electronics gear also ranks among the most desirable gifts for both
men and women, and 51 percent of respondents plan on giving recipients
items such as video games or accessories, digital cameras, headphones,
or other gadgets.
-- Other gifts consumers plan on giving this season include gift cards
(46%), followed by money (44%), toys (42%), DVDs (31%), food or wine
(28%), jewelry (26%) and pet toys (19%).

Especially For You?

-- Tis' the season to give and receive and to re-gift what you've
received. According to the poll, 36 percent of adults have given a
gift they have received from someone else to another person as a
holiday gift. That's up from 31 percent in 2008.

The Perils of Gift Cards
-- Despite their drawbacks - fees, expiration dates, and the like - many
people plan on buying gift cards (46%) and many want them (15%) as
well. During the 2008 holidays, about half of adults received a gift
card, but one in four hadn't redeemed at least one of the cards as of
this month.
-- Sixty-five percent of adults who received a gift card in 2008
typically spend more than the value of the card, up from 58 percent in
2007. Forty-one percent of those who have unused gift cards from last
year said that they hadn't found anything they wanted to buy. This
year, lack of time was less of a factor in not redeeming gift cards;
only 37 percent of respondents reporting that they hadn't had time to
redeem their cards, down from 54 percent last year.

Happy Holidays

-- Despite continued cutbacks, a majority (87%) of adults remain hopeful
that their holiday season will be as happy or even happier than last
year.

Consumer Reports Holiday Shopping Poll Methodology

The Consumer Reports National Research Center conducted a telephone survey of a nationally representative probability sample of telephone households. 1,000 interviews were completed among adults aged 18+. Interviewing took place over October 15-18, 2009. The margin of error is +/- 3% points at a 95% confidence level.

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page

American Women Confident in the Face of Economic Gloom

RJ Note: Yep, its tough. Yep, we are spending less. Yep, we are confident. Yep, we are women! We've come a long way---

/PRNewswire/ -- Women are spending less on microwaves, gifts, hobbies, gourmet coffees, video games, and even organic foods than they did just two months ago. And with the holidays approaching, they are about to get stingier still. But despite this stark outlook, fully 95 percent of all American women feel they will "make it" through the recession and 64 percent feel 2009 will find them financially "better off." These are among the findings of a recent study conducted for Fleishman-Hillard International Communications by the Harrison Group.

In "Women, Power & Money - The Shift to the Female-Driven Economy," a survey of more than 1,600 women conducted initially in early September and again in early November 2008, women acknowledged being financially worse off than they were a year ago, but felt sure they would be able to manage. The study is a large-scale, nationally representative survey that codifies the power of women in the marketplace.

In the September study, 79 percent of women stated that their opinion determines family financial decisions, while 91 percent claim to be the manager of their family's quality of life. More than half pay the family bills and about half are the shared or primary breadwinners.

"It's clear from this research that we are now living in a 'mom-ocracy' -- women are setting the agenda," said Nancy Seliger, president, U.S. East region, at Fleishman-Hillard, the global communications firm that commissioned the study. "We believe the most successful marketers will address concerns of the spouse, the children, and even friends of women. When these individuals are well informed, it is easier for women to build consensus within their families."

"These women hold the consumer economy in their hands," said Jim Taylor, Ph.D., vice chairman of the Harrison Group, a marketing and research consulting firm. "Their decisions over the next year will determine the economic health of the country."

The study also examined how women make decisions. For instance, women rank both "articles in magazines and newspapers" and "expert recommendations" as more influential than advertising. Moreover, even as the contemporary American woman controls a greater share than ever of household spending, she leads more by consensus than by decree.

Regarding the near-term economy, the study revealed much more about American women:

-- 79 percent plan to cut back on gift-giving this holiday season
-- 56 percent are spending less than last year eating out
-- 51 percent are spending less than last year on toys and games
-- 49 percent are spending less in November than in September on
entertainment
-- 50 percent are spending less in November than in September on shoes,
handbags, and accessories
-- 86 percent are delaying purchases until items go on sale

"Retailers may look at these numbers and cringe," said Seliger. "But family level cost controls give women confidence they will be able to manage through these tough times."

Women in the study acknowledged there will be some stress in charting their courses over the coming months, but they have strategies in place to cope with that as well. The majority plan to spend more time with friends and family, exercise and eat healthier.

The margin for error in the master survey is plus or minus 2 percent, and in the November survey the margin of error is plus or minus 4 percent.

---
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
Community News You Can Use
Fayetteville, Peachtree City, Tyrone
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page