2018 is the Year of the Price Check, According to Ting Mobile Holiday Shopping Survey

STARKVILLE, Miss., Nov. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Just in time for holiday shopping season, Ting Mobile, a top-rated postpaid MVNO mobile phone service, today revealed the results of its Ting Holiday Shopping Survey. Ting asked 3,155 people all about their holiday shopping habits, from where they shop to how they use their phones to help them find deals and what types of gifts they plan to give and hope to receive this year.

"'Tis the season for holiday shopping, and we know that our Ting customers are super savvy when it comes to finding a good deal – this is evidenced by the fact that Ting customers who responded to our survey spent an average of $584 total on their shopping, which is 42% less than the national average," said Andrew Moore-Crispin, Director of Content at Ting Mobile. "People will be using their phones to help them shop this holiday season to compare prices, find coupons, or ask a friend's opinion on a gift purchase. Ting's pay-only-for-what-you-use model can help customers save more on mobile, leaving a little more room in the budget this holiday."

Ting Holiday Shopping Survey Key Takeaways

Phones help shoppers find deals and make decisions:

• Phones play a role in holiday shopping, both online and in-store. 62% of shoppers say that they have used coupon apps or deal sites to find deals when they shop. Only 1% of those who use these apps and sites say that they never find a deal – 32% find a deal "most of the time" and 67% find a deal "sometimes."
• Of the 37% of people who don't use these apps and sites, 46% say it's because it's not worth the trouble of using them, while 30% say that they simply forget to check sometimes.
• In-store shoppers aren't always taking the sticker price at face value either – 88% of people said that they have searched for a better deal online for an item they found in-store, and 32% of people say they saved between 10-20% off the store price during their most successful scores!
• Mobile phones also allow shoppers to enlist the help of remote family and friends when picking out holiday gifts: 36% of people say that they share purchase ideas while shopping via text message/instant messaging, and 35% snap a picture of potential gift items and send them for a second opinion.

Shoppers prefer the living room over the mall:

• The majority of people are making their gift purchases online (78%) vs. in-store (22%).
• Of those online shoppers, 25% browse and plan their purchases from their mobile phone, but the majority (72%) make the final purchase on a laptop or desktop computer.
• 87% of shoppers swear that they do the majority of their holiday shopping outside of work hours – just 9% of people admitted that they do most of their shopping while at work (don't tell the boss!).

Shoppers go old school on budgeting

• Budgeting was a split topic among survey respondents, with 52% saying that they create a holiday shopping budget and 48% saying that they don't bother. Of those who do create a budget, 80% say that they manage to stick to it.
• Budgeting is a relatively low-tech affair, with 30% of people keeping track of their spending by stashing their receipts in one place. Just 7% of people use a budgeting app and another 7% use an online budgeting tool. The majority (34%) said they don't keep track at all and just hope for the best!
• This tactic works out for some – 43% of people said that they have never been surprised by how much they spent on holiday shopping because they stick to their budget. On the other hand, 45% of people said that they have been surprised to learn that they spent more than expected at the end of holiday shopping season.
• Being a budgeter doesn't make you much less likely to be shocked by your spending total: 44% of people who indicated that they set a holiday shopping budget were surprised that they spent more than they expected, while 46% of non-budgeters said the same.
• Parents spend on average $716 on all their holiday shopping, while people without kids spend on average $429 on their shopping. Unsurprisingly, 69% of parents spend the most on their kids, while the majority of people without kids (38%) spend the most on their spouse or significant other.

Not every gift is a great gift

• 49% of respondents said that they have no plans to purchase a tech gift this year. Smaller groups of people say they plan to purchase popular tech items, including wireless headphones (16%), smartphones (14%), smartwatches (9%), tablets (11%), smart speakers (9%) and smart displays (6%).
• 77% of people consider themselves to be good gift-givers, which is interesting given that 56% of people reported that they have received a truly terrible holiday gift in the past. Some of the most egregious offenders? A phone with a broken screen, ugly clothing, and even burial plots (because nothing says 'holiday spirit' like planning for the afterlife!).
• Regifting isn't as taboo as some of us may believe. Overall, 47% of respondents said that they would give someone a second-hand gift as long as it was in like-new condition.
• 51% of younger people, aged 18-30, said they would rather receive cash or gift card to help them pay a monthly expense (i.e. student loan bill, mobile bill, etc.), vs. 73% of people over 60 who would rather receive a nice item that they wouldn't normally buy for themselves.
• While the holiday sales are hot, it can be tough to pass up a good deal, even if it doesn't check someone off of your list -- 71% of people said that they sometimes purchase things for themselves while holiday shopping, and 17% of people say that they always make purchases for themselves.

The Ting Holiday Shopping Survey was conducted in October 2018. Recipients of Ting's newsletter and followers of their social media channels were given a chance to win one of 20 $50 Amazon gift cards for their participation in the survey.

For more information about the survey, visit https://ting.com/blog/five-holiday-shopping-tips/.

About Ting
Ting (http://www.ting.com) offers mobile that makes sense. Ting has no contracts, no overage penalties and no hidden fees. Minutes, megabytes and messages are each billed separately and customers only pay for the usage levels they actually hit. Businesses and families can have unlimited devices on one account and share usage for even greater savings. Active devices on an account cost just $6 per month. Built on customer service, Ting offers a clear, usable website and smart, accessible people that are empowered to solve problems. Follow Ting on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

About Tucows
Tucows is a provider of network access, domain names and other Internet services. Ting (https://ting.com) delivers mobile phone service and fixed Internet access with outstanding customer support. OpenSRS (http://opensrs.com) and Enom (http://www.enom.com) manage a combined 29 million domain names and millions of value-added services through a global reseller network of over 40,000 web hosts and ISPs. Hover (http://hover.com) makes it easy for individuals and small businesses to manage their domain names and email addresses.

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