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When and Where the Affluent Shop for December Holiday Gifts
The majority of the affluent will do most of their shopping for
holiday gifts during the first two weeks of December, and
traditional department stores will be the most important source
of gifts, based on dollars spent, according to a recent survey
of the wealthiest 10% of U.S. households.
About one in four said they would do most of their holiday gift
shopping before Thanksgiving, while 60% plan to do most of their
shopping during the first two weeks of December. About 12% plan
to wait until the week before the holiday. A total of 3% will
wait until the after holiday sales. Only a few (4%) planned to
venture out to do most of their shopping during the busy
Thanksgiving weekend, often the biggest shopping days of all for
many.
The traditional department store will be the number one gift
source for 32% of all respondents, with discount department
stores and specialty retail stores virtually tied at about one
in five of the affluent shoppers. Named by 16%, the internet
will be a close fourth.
The discount department store and the internet were named more
frequently than in 2004 as the most important source, as the
first place mentions for traditional department stores and
specialty retail stores declined slightly.
Traditional department stores, at 75% of the respondents,
received the most total mentions. Specialty retail stores at 66%
were in second place, discount department stores at 56% were
third, and the internet at 53% was fourth. Total mentions of
discount department stores increased as wealth declined, and
total mentions of the internet were highest
among those under 50
(64%) and those with incomes above $200,000 (58%).
These results were obtained from the recently completed Fall
2005 "Affluent Market Tracking Study #8" by The American
Affluence Research Center. A continuing series of twice-yearly
surveys, these studies track the 12- month economic outlook and
spending plans of the wealthiest 10% of Americans, the 11
million households representing about half of all consumer
income and spending and a third of the total US economy. These
are the consumers who have helped the more upscale retailers to
out perform others in recent years.
The survey participants were asked to rank their first, second,
and third most important sources of gifts based on the total
dollar value of gifts purchased.
Highlights of the national survey of 448 men and women in the
wealthiest 10% of U.S. households can be found on the AARC
website, www.affluenceresearch.org. The survey participants have
an average income of $308,000 and an average net worth of $2.7
million. The survey has a 5% margin of error at the 95%
confidence level.
About the author:
Ron Kurtz is a principal of The American Affluence Research
Center and The Management Resource Group. Both companies provide
marketing research and strategic planning services to prominent
clients in the travel and hospitality industries, especially
those targeting the affluent market. Ron earned his MBA at
Harvard Business School.
For further information: http://www.affluenceresearch.org and
http://www.mrgconsultants.com
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