Sixty-two percent of consumers are planning to spend the same or more this holiday shopping season compared to 2011, According to Survey

PriceGrabber® has released the results of its first winter holiday shopping survey, revealing optimism for both consumers and retailers this 2012 holiday season. More than half of consumers surveyed said they are planning to spend the same amount of money or more during the 2012 winter holiday shopping season than they did in 2011. Fifty percent of consumers plan to spend the same amount that they spent last year – up slightly from 48 percent in 2011 – and 12 percent plan to spend more, a positive increase compared with 7 percent last year. Conducted from August 31 to Sept. 12, 2012, the survey includes responses from 2,235 U.S. online shopping consumers.

Consumers are positive about the upcoming holiday season

Of those consumers who indicated that they will spend more money this holiday season compared with last year, 42 percent said they are making more money this year, 34 percent attributed their decision to better prices on gifts, 22 percent said they have confidence in the economy, 13 percent said they will spend more due to increased credit limit, and 8 percent are tired of being frugal.

When shoppers who indicated they plan to spend less money on holiday shopping in 2012 were asked why, 62 percent attributed their spending decision to an increase in prices for food, gas and other necessities. Forty-one percent indicated that they are earning less money this year and 39 percent said they planned to spend less due to an increased acceptance of giving less-expensive gifts. The state of the economy also continues to impact consumers' holiday shopping decisions, with PriceGrabber's survey finding that 64 percent of shoppers say the economic climate will affect their overall spending.

Shoppers are looking forward to better pricing and discounts this holiday season

Shoppers appear to be confident in their ability to find a holiday bargain this season. According to PriceGrabber's survey, 67 percent of consumers said they believe retailers will offer better prices and discounts this year. When asked what retailer tactics will entice consumers to buy a product this holiday season, 77 percent of respondents indicated free shipping, 74 percent noted price cuts, 55 percent said coupons, and 44 percent indicated blow out sales.

"Our survey data found that shoppers are not only expecting to find great prices and bargains this holiday season, but 59 percent of consumers plan to start shopping even earlier this year to spread out the impact of purchases, compared to 53 percent in 2011," stated Rojeh Avanesian, vice president of marketing and analytics of PriceGrabber. "Our data indicates that 17 percent of consumers plan to start their holiday shopping in September and 31 percent plan to begin in October this year."

Majority of consumers will research gift purchases in advance to save money

To maintain their holiday budgets this year, more shoppers will use the Internet to conduct research on products and pricing before making holiday purchases. An overwhelming 88 percent of PriceGrabber survey respondents indicated that they will research their holiday gift purchases in advance to find the best deals. Of those respondents, 38 percent plan to spend three to six hours researching holiday gift purchases, 29 percent plan to spend up to two hours, 19 percent said they plan to spend over 10 hours and 14 percent indicated between seven and 10 hours.

"Our survey findings indicate that consumers are still budget conscience and will continue to do their research to find the best pricing on products when holiday shopping this year," added Avanesian. "By comparison-shopping on a Website such as PriceGrabber.com or visiting the number of discount retailers available online, consumers can find deals, compare prices, set price alerts, print coupons, and take advantage of online promotional codes and free shipping to save extra cash."

For shrewd holiday shopping on any budget, visit http://www.pricegrabber.com to browse, compare, read merchant reviews, find local deals, online deals, and more. Download the mobile application for smart shopping on the go.
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PR Newswire (http://s.tt/1oVrT)