Holiday Shopping Spending to Increase in 2012, Yet Shoppers Are Missing the Opportunity to Save More According to Survey from Ipsos Public Affairs and Offers.com

AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- A telephone survey conducted among 1,001 U.S. adults by Ipsos Public Affairs and commissioned by Offers.com, found that consumers plan to increase the amount they will spend this holiday shopping season, but are overlooking big opportunities to save money in the process. The survey found that given the current state of the economy, 13% of consumers plan to spend more during the upcoming holiday season than they did last year. However, among those who shop online, just 24% say they look for coupons or deals always or most of the time when making online purchases, a decrease from 40% last year; 36% say that they never do so, an increase from 23% in 2011.  

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"It's great to see a higher level of consumer confidence this year," said Steve Schaffer, CEO of Offers.com. "With more savings available by all major retailers, there's tremendous opportunity for shoppers to save. In fact, we've found that consumers save an average of $25 on the most wanted holiday gifts when they shop through Offers.com."

Online Shopping Coupon Usage
In 2011, 16% of adults answered that they always use online coupons and deals, yet this year that percentage has dropped to just 10%.  Among the other critical findings: 

• 34% of parents with children under 18 are most likely to always look for coupons when shopping online, or look for coupons most of the time, versus 18% of shoppers without children.
• 36% of consumers claim that they never look for online coupons or deals when shopping online, and 30% say they haven't used any type of online or in-store savings opportunity in the past 30 days (e.g. loyalty cards/in-store promotions, printable or online coupons, etc.).
• 23% of consumers find online coupons and/or coupon codes primarily through emails from their favorite retailer or the website that they are purchasing from; 19% search for coupons using a search engine like Google, Yahoo, or Bing; and 10% rely on an online coupon or daily deal website.

Black Friday 2012
"There is a lot of talk right now that the savings opportunities on Black Friday are not all that great," said Schaffer. "However, we think those who are Savvy Black Friday Shoppers can find fantastic deals this year.  By heading to Offers.com, we will help consumers find deep discounts on hot gift items including electronics such as digital cameras, Blu-ray players, HDTV's and more."

The survey also found that this year 32% of consumers plan to shop on Black Friday.
Among Black Friday shoppers:

• 57% plan to shop primarily in stores, 31% to do so both online and in stores, and 11% to do so primarily online.
• 21% start Black Friday planning right after Halloween, 32% begins their planning one week before, and 40% wait until Thanksgiving to plan for Black Friday shopping.
• Many Black Friday shoppers plan to start early in the day, with 50% planning to shop at stores between midnight and 6:00 am. 

Offers.com provides consumers with easy-to-find online coupons, coupon codes, offers, and deals from thousands of online stores. The Offers.com Holiday Savings Center provides consumers with unique and helpful content such as shopping tips and holiday survival guides. Offers.com also organizes deals around specific holidays and trends such as Black Friday 2012 Deals, Cyber Monday 2012 Deals, and Christmas 2012 Deals.

The surveys were conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs from October 4-8, 2012, and September 8-13, 2011.  For the surveys, nationally representative samples of 1,001 randomly-selected adults aged 18 and over residing in the U.S. were interviewed via Ipsos' U.S. Telephone Express omnibus.  With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate within ±3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire population of adults in the U.S. been polled.

The full results of the survey can be found here.

For more information on holiday savings opportunities visit:
www.offers.com/black-friday
www.offers.com/holiday

About Offers.com
Offers.com saves consumers time and money by helping them find the best coupons, deals, and offers from more than 5,500 online stores and brands. Offers.com has over 200 categories including travel, software, clothing and shoes, and more. The site has about 50,000 of the best offers, including promotions, coupons and coupon codes, deals, free trials, and free offers. Offers are verified, rated, and updated daily by the Offers.com editorial team. The company, based in Austin Texas, has been profitable since its inception and received a minority equity investment from Susquehanna Growth Equity, LLLP.

SOURCE Offers.com