More than half (62.8%) of consumers plans to spend the same or cut back on their holiday purchases compared to 2008, according to a new survey by Burst Media.
Although consumers plan to be thrifty with their spending this holiday season, the majority (85.3%) will shop online.
With the current economic concerns, the survey found only 14.6 percent of respondents plan to spend more this holiday season than they did in 2008, while one third (32.7%) expect to spend less and 30.1 percent plan to spend about the same as they did last year.
Women will be more frugal than men this holiday season with 38.1 percent planning to spend less on gifts and entertainment, compared to 27.3 percent of all men. All income segments will trim holiday spending this year with 29.5 percent of those with household income (HHI) of less than $35,000 cutting spending, as will almost half (46.%) of households reporting HHI of $35,000-$75,000, and nearly one third (31.3%) of households reporting HHI of $75,000 or more.
Despite the fact that 63 percent of consumers are concerned about credit card security when making an online purchase 69.3 percent still plan on making an online holiday purchase. Consumers will also use the Internet to "window shop." The most popular online window-shopping activities are comparing different retailers to find the best price (56.8%), and comparing the features of different brands (55.3%).
The Burst survey also found there does not seem to be a clear start to the holiday shopping season as only 13.6 percent of respondents consider "Black Friday" (the day after Thanksgiving) to be the official kick-off.
"There is no denying that consumers will be shopping online this holiday season, and it is clear that the holiday shopping season for consumers has no definitive starting point," said Chuck Moran, Chief Marketing Officer for Burst Media.
"This provides an incredible opportunity for marketers to spread their holiday message on the Internet this year. Advertisers can start building awareness now, and quickly change to a more seasonal action as the holidays approach."
I have the opposite experience. I buy 90% of my physical items online. I shop at places with either a great rep, (like Amazon), or at stores that display "Stock Status" or "Inventory Available"
99.999% of my online purchases go flawlessly, I haven't been to a mall in 3 years.
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I'm in the internet business, like most the readers here, and I hate to shop online. It's like mail order. I'm very reluctant to buy anything without seeing it first. I'm also reluctant to buy something were it's a pain in the butt to return the item. I also always get screwed when I buy physical objects (versus services or downloadable objects). They always charge too much for shipping they don't ship when they say they will and most of them want me to register and then spam me. I feel like I'm encouraging them to take advantage of people.
I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand I'm glad because this makes my services more valuable, but saddened because it emboldens these "legit" businesses to screw people.