Credit Karma Survey Discovers Surprising National Holiday Shopping Habits

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Credit Karma, a financial technology platform empowering more than 30 million consumers, today released key findings from a study of national holiday shopping trends. The study revealed three significant findings on how consumers plan to spend money on gifts this holiday season and how this behavior affects their financial health for the next 12 months.

• Americans overspend on the holidays.
  • 35 percent of respondents believe they overspend on holiday gifts
  • 25- to 44-year-olds are more likely to overspend than other age groups
  • Women are more likely to overspend. (40 percent vs. 30 percent of men)
  • Women are also more likely to max out one or more credit cards. (9 percent vs. 4 percent of male respondents)
  • Nearly one out of five respondents say that last year's holiday shopping put them in debt.
    • 50 percent of these respondents took more than six months to pay the debt off
    • 35 percent of these respondents maxed out one or more credit cards
• Brick & mortar shopping rules the roost.
  • 65 percent of respondents plan to do the majority of their holiday shopping in-store
  • Contrary to popular belief, just one out of four respondents plan to actually shop on Black Friday or Cyber Monday.
• Millennials love a good deal.
  • Millennials, ages 18-24, are more likely to shop on Black Friday / Cyber Monday in order to capitalize on deals.
    • 74 percent plan to shop during those days
  • Unlike other generations, they do not procrastinate and tend to get their shopping done before December.
  • Millennials are willing to overspend for the right gift and the right deal.         
    • 41 percent of Millennials plan to spend more than $500 on gifts this year

"Consumers' holiday shopping habits are always of interest to Credit Karma, because they often spend in a way that can impact their credit and financial situations," said Greg Lull, head of consumer insights, Credit Karma. "This survey has allowed us to more closely examine holiday shopping trends, so we may ultimately better educate and empower our members to make the most of their financial situation."

Credit Karma's survey, conducted by Qualtrics, polled more than 1,000 Americans across all age, education and income levels.

Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the United States among 1,041 adults ages 18 and older, from November 5 to 9, 2014, for Credit Karma by Qualtrics, a rapidly growing software-as-a-service company and the provider of the world's leading insight platform. This survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percent at a 95 percent level of confidence.

About Credit Karma
Credit Karma is committed to providing consumers with the free resources and information they need to take control of their financial health. Beginning with a free credit score and report, the bloodlines of personal finance, Credit Karma brings more transparency and certainty to credit and finance with free monitoring, data-driven resources and personalized recommendations.

Credit Karma's mission is to use the power of technology to simplify decision-making and credit and finance management. Available online and on iOS and Android, Credit Karma is helping more than 30 million consumers better understand and optimize their credit and personal finances.

Headquartered in San Francisco, Calif., Credit Karma has raised $193.5 million in financing to date, including a $75 million follow on round in September 2014 led by Google Capital, Tiger Global and Susquehanna Growth Equity.

Media Contacts:

Credit Karma
Christina Ra
christina.ra@creditkarma.com

JCUTLER media group 
Melissa Barto
melissa@jcmg.com

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SOURCE Credit Karma