Consumers plan to check off the majority of their holiday shopping lists in December, PriceGrabber® survey finds

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- With a record 247 million shoppers visiting stores and websites over the Thanksgiving weekend, there are still a significant number of December shoppers this year. Leading shopping site PriceGrabber.com® just released results from its fourth winter holiday shopping survey, revealing that 78 percent of consumers are still in the market to complete their holiday shopping in December. More specifically, 45 percent stated that they are prepared to conduct most of their shopping this month, 33 percent took advantage of Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals in November but said they would conduct a majority of their shopping in December and 22 percent indicated they will not shop for gifts this month. Conducted from Nov. 6 to Nov. 28, 2012, the survey includes responses from 2,541 U.S. online shopping consumers.

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When the consumers who indicated that they will do most of their shopping this month were asked to select all of the reasons why, 48 percent said they anticipate deep discounts in December, 28 percent indicated they procrastinate and wait until the last minute to shop and 25 percent noted that holiday advertisements in December offer them great gift ideas. Nineteen percent indicated they conduct most of their shopping in December because they like to take advantage of Free Shipping Day on December 17^th and another 19 percent said they are busy and only able to shop in December.

"Thanksgiving weekend was a huge win for retailers with strong sales, and our survey data shows that consumers are still planning to shop and spend money throughout December, which indicates a positive overall holiday shopping season," said Rojeh Avanesian, vice president of marketing and analytics of PriceGrabber.com.

Consumers plan to capitalize on Free Shipping Day and Super Saturday
Consumers are continuing to look for deals, discounts and free shipping this holiday season to save money on gifts. According to PriceGrabber survey results, 59 percent of shoppers plan to take advantage of Free Shipping Day on December 17^th to order online and have their gifts delivered in time for Christmas, and 48 percent plan to shop on Super Saturday, December 22^nd to take advantage of one-day sales.

Shoppers are eager to "showroom" while searching for gifts 
The term "showrooming" – when a customer visits a brick and mortar store to touch and feel a product and then goes online to purchase the product at a lower price – has been an increasingly popular topic and trend this holiday season. When PriceGrabber survey respondents were asked if they plan to inspect merchandise in a physical retail store and later purchase it online for less money this holiday season, 52 percent responded positively. When the respondents planning to "showroom," were asked to select all of the reasons why they planned to do so, 53 percent said because they like to touch and feel the product first and then find the best price online, 40 percent indicated they test the product to see if they like it and then go online to take advantage of free shipping deals and coupons, and 40 percent noted that they are trying to save money on holiday gifts this year and always search for the best price. Thirty-nine percent of shoppers indicated they like to browse first and buy later and 27 percent said they like to make side-by-side comparisons before making gift decisions.  

To view all of PriceGrabber's 2012 holiday shopping press releases, visit:
http://www.pricegrabber.com/about.php?about=press

Infographics from PriceGrabber's 2012 holiday surveys and press releases:
INFOGRAPHIC 7: http://i.pgcdn.com/images/infographics/blackweek.jpg
INFOGRAPHIC 6: http://i.pgcdn.com/images/infographics/holiday3_infographic2.jpg
INFOGRAPHIC 5: http://i.pgcdn.com/images/infographics/holiday3_infographic1.jpg
INFOGRAPHIC 4: http://i.pgcdn.com/images/infographics/holiday2_infographic2.jpg
INFOGRAPHIC 3: http://i.pgcdn.com/images/infographics/holiday2_infographic1.jpg
INFOGRAPHIC 2: http://i.pgcdn.com/images/infographics/Holiday1_Infographic2.jpg
INFOGRAPHIC 1: http://i.pgcdn.com/images/infographics/Holiday1_InfoGraphic1.jpg

For shrewd holiday shopping on any budget, visit http://www.pricegrabber.com to browse products, compare prices, read merchant reviews, find local deals, online deals, and more. Download the PriceGrabber mobile applications for smart shopping on the go.

About PriceGrabber.com^®
PriceGrabber is a leading online shopping site with more than 23 million unique shoppers monthly. At PriceGrabber, savvy shoppers can instantly find and compare over 80 million products and services across 25 categories with more than 11,000 merchants. Compare products side by side to find the right retailers at the best prices within popular categories, such as Digital Cameras, TVs, Electronics, Computers, Clothing, Books, and more. PriceGrabber provides shoppers with the right product from the right merchant at the best price anytime, anywhere. Visit us at http://www.pricegrabber.com.  

SOURCE PriceGrabber.com