Nearly Four-in-Ten U.S. Adults Have Re-gifted an Item, Finds Annual CouponCabin.com Survey

WHITING, Ind., Dec. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Holiday traditions like eggnog, mistletoe and stockings hung above the fireplace aren't going anywhere. And neither is re-gifting. Nearly four-in-ten (39 percent) U.S. adults report they have re-gifted an item, meaning they have received a gift from someone and given it to a different person as a gift. This is in line with the 41 percent who said the same last year. It's fairly easy to get away with re-gifting, or perhaps re-gifters are rarely confronted. Only one-in-ten (8 percent) of those who have ever re-gifted said they have been caught doing so. This survey was conducted online nationwide by Harris Interactive on behalf of CouponCabin.com from November 27^th to 29^th, 2012, among 2,249 adults ages 18 and older.

Sometimes it can be hard to tell whether or not an item you receive is, in fact, a re-gifted one. Nearly one-third (32 percent) have, to the best of their knowledge, received a re-gifted item. This is down slightly from the 35 percent who said the same in last year's survey.

"Re-gifting can be a savvy way to save money on holiday gifts as long as it's done with care," said Jackie Warrick, President and Chief Savings Officer at CouponCabin.com. "Make sure the gift is appropriate for the person you're giving it to and all signs of its previous gift status, like cards and wrapping paper, are removed. With a little bit of foresight, re-gifting can help offset the ever-growing holiday gift list."

Re-gifting may be the consequence of larger "to buy for" lists. More than half (51 percent) of U.S. adults plan to buy gifts for people outside of their extended family and friends this year, up from 45 percent last year. When asked whom they planned to buy for this holiday season, U.S. adults said the following:

• Co-workers, supervisors, managers at my workplace – 20 percent
• People who provide services to me, such as a dog walker, mail delivery person, handyman, salon stylist, doorman – 18 percent
• Friends from my church, synagogue, religious center – 13 percent
• Neighbors – 12 percent
• My children's teachers – 9 percent

No matter who people are gifting to this holiday season, re-gifting and awkward gift moments are likely to happen. When asked what was the most awkward gift they have ever given or received, a random sampling of U.S. adults said the following:

• Bag of dog food. I have a cat.
• Belt buckle. Not a belt, just a buckle. 
• A boyfriend of one month bought me an engagement ring that I turned down. 
• Three expired bottles of barbeque sauce. 
• A giant box of condoms from my mother, who said she didn't want grandchildren any time soon. 
• Handcrafted green leather purse shaped like a teapot. 
• Jar of hemorrhoid pads. 
• Single, plain white dishcloth. 
• Gift card with zero balance on it. 
• Picture frames with other people's kids in them. 
• Glow-in-the-dark handcuffs. 
• A pair of hockey goalie gloves, but I don't play hockey. 
• A once-live jellyfish in a glass container with hardened liquid. 
• A used fanny pack with a boot print on it. 
• My good friend gave me a framed picture of her and her husband.

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Survey Methodology:
This survey was conducted onlin e within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of Coupon Cabin from November 27th - 29th, 2012, among 2,249 adults ages 18 and older, the 2011 survey was conducted online from November 3-7, 2011 among 2,574 US adults ages 18 and older. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact Allison Kaplan, [email protected].

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SOURCE CouponCabin.com