More Than 9 in 10 Shoppers Have Had to Buy Last-Minute Holiday Gifts

RetailMeNot (www.retailmenot.com), the largest digital offers marketplace in the United States, announced the latest edition of its Shoppers Trend Report, which found that even as the holiday shopping season started earlier this year, nearly 1 in 3 (30%) consumers typically wait until the week of Christmas to do the majority of their holiday shopping.

Why the procrastination?Last-minute holiday shopping is more common than you think. More than 9 in 10 (91%) Americans have bought last-minute gifts during the holidays. The reasons for this behavior vary:

• More than 4 in 10 (44%) were undecided on what to get the recipient
• Close to 1 in 3 (30%) became busy and ran out time
• Over 1 in 5 waited to see how much money they had left (21%), received an unexpected gift (21%) or simply forgot (21%)

Of the last-minute shoppers, close to 6 in 10 (58%) prefer to shop in-store versus online. Why? In order to avoid the worry of on-time delivery (69%); preferring to bypass expedited shipping costs (53%); and the feeling that shopping in-store presents better last-minute deals (34%).

Shipping expectations"While some retailers have extended their free shipping deadlines, shoppers should be mindful of shipping cutoffs and unforeseen weather interruptions," said Marissa Tarleton, chief marketing officer, North America, RetailMeNot, Inc. "Shopping in-store helps eliminate the stress of arrival dates of packages, and retailers have become savvier in listening to customer needs and providing options like 'buy online, pick up in-store' and price-match guarantees."

More than 1 in 3 consumers (34%) believe they will receive their online order on time without paying expedited shipping costs if they order within one week of when the gift is needed. With more people shopping for last-minute gifts online this year compared to 2014 (42% vs. 32% respectively), shoppers should be mindful of shipping deadlines and unexpected weather delays. RetailMeNot suggests consumers take advantage of Free Shipping Day, on December 18, where over 600 retailers will guarantee delivery of gifts by Christmas morning without expedited shipping costs.

Those shoppers who miss free-shipping deadlines are planning to go to great lengths to avoid expedited shipping costs:

• Close to 1 in 2 (47%) would "buy online, pick up in-store" (BOPIS)
• More than 4 in 10 (44%) check other retailers for the same item to see if they might offer free expedited shipping
• Over 1 in 3 (36%) search online for free-shipping coupons
• Nearly 3 in 10 (28%) go to the physical store even if that means not getting their first choice of gift
• 27% pick a different item at a retailer that offers free expedited shipping

Last-minute presentsIn some cases, last-minute gifts are inevitable. Holiday shoppers (64%) deem gift cards (physical, digital or gift certificates) as the most popular last-minute gift, followed by accessories like gloves and scarves (9%) or wine or other spirits (7%). Shoppers who wish to avoid the crowds can opt to purchase digital gift cards, make DIY presents or give an experience like wine tasting or cooking classes.