NRF: Gift Cards (Again) are Most Wanted for the Holidays
For the ninth consecutive year, gift cards are the most requested holiday gift. Nearly 60 percent (58.8 percent) of consumers surveyed would prefer a gift card over clothing or accessories (52.2 percent) and books, CDs, DVDs and video games (40.5 percent), according to the National Retail Federation’s 2015 Holiday Consumer Spending Survey.
The survey also indicates that more consumers prefer to do their browsing and shopping online—the most since NRF began tracking the behavior a decade ago. More than 46 percent of holiday shopping will be done online. Consumers also plan to use their mobile devices to do everything from purchasing merchandise to looking up store hours and getting directions. More than 21 percent of respondents will use their smartphones to buy gifts, which is the highest percentage since the NRF first asked the question in 2011. Nearly 38 percent of respondents plan to research products this year on their phones, compared with 35.8 percent last year. One in five respondents said they will use their smartphones to look up product availability in a store. Tablet owners will use their devices to research products (47.5 percent), purchase merchandise (34.5 percent) and check for in-store availability of products (23.5 percent).
Overall average spending is expected to increase this year with consumers spending $805.65, compared with $802.45 last year. The survey, which gauges consumer behavior and shopping trends related to the winter holidays, polled 7,276 consumers Oct. 5-13, 2015, and was conducted for NRF by Prosper Insights & Analytics.
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