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Online Consumers to Spend Less Money, Use More Coupons, This Holiday Season

by: Charting Stocks October 12, 2008 | about stocks: AMZN / EBAY / OSTK    

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Nearly half of US online adults (45%) plan to spend less money on gifts this holiday season than last because of the state of the economy, and one in five plan to spend significantly less, according to a Harris Interactive survey commissioned by RetailMeNot.com.

Fully 89% of online adults think coupons are a great way to save money, and about a third (35%) of those who will be spending less money on gifts this holiday season will use coupons, the study found.

Among the other shopping strategies for spending less money on holiday gifts, according to online adults who will be spending less money this holiday season:

click to enlarge


  • Some 80% will purchase fewer gifts this year by…
    • Buying gifts for fewer people (46%)
    • Buying a smaller amount of gifts for the same number of people (43%)
    • Or making some gifts instead of purchasing them (22%)
  • 63% will buy less expensive gifts.
  • 44% will shop at discount stores.
  • 37% will shop online, either to find better deals (32%) and/or to save money on gas (24%).
  • 29% will shop early to avoid impulse buys.
  • 19% will shop during Black Friday sales.
  • 12% will wait until the last minute to get more discounts.

Consumers are increasingly turning to the internet to do their shopping: Most online adults (83%) are willing to make online purchases. Of those who make purchases online, the most popular items include books (71%), music (62%) and electronics (55%):

When heading online to shop, consumers are increasingly web-savvy in the way they look for bargains: 85% of online shoppers use tools or websites to find good deals online. Not surprisingly, 56% of online shoppers use search engines to find bargains; however, they have found other ways to save:


  • 32% use price-comparison websites.
  • 25% use online-coupon websites.
  • 23% use online advertisements.
  • 12% use bargain-tracking websites.
  • 5% use shopping-themed social networks.

“As economic pressures mount, consumers are becoming more strategic in the way they look for deals and they are using online tools more than ever. Coupon use, in particular, is on the rise and more consumers are realizing tremendous savings with online coupon websites like RetailMeNot.com,” said Guy King, cofounder of online coupon website RetailMeNot.com.

“In addition to empowering consumers with the information they need to save money, online tools are creating new channels for retailers to reach budget-conscious shoppers and drive sales despite the decrease in spending this holiday season.”

About the study: This online shopping survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of RetailMeNot.com September 10-12, 2008 among 2,022 US adults ages 18+, of whom 1,783 shop online. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the online US adult population on the basis of internet usage (hours per week) and connection type.

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This article has 3 comments:

  •  
    Oct 12 11:36 AM
    I use www.searchalldeals.com in addition to retailmenot when deals don't necessarily come in the form of coupon codes.
    Reply
  •  
    Oct 12 02:55 PM
    There is no question that economic downturn is going to affect everybody from corporate to retail stores to consumers. Consumer is going to spend less and less. They will buy only necessary items ! So I am sure it is going to affect all online advertisers from Google to CJ.com to Fatwallet sites to retailmont to small deal sites like www.slickdeals4u.com.

    Now being said that on other side people going to try to save money as much as possible by finding bargain deals. There will be more people researching on web, finding bargain, coupons, slick deals etc. So online business will benefit compared to physical stores.. This fact of finding bargain weighs equivalent or more than fact of economic downturn!

    So this is great opportunity to all those bargain deal sites, coupon sites to provide smart & intelligent service to consumer!! And social networking built into these sweetens the spot.

    -Slick Deals 4 U
    www.slickdeals4u.com/d...
    Reply
  •  
    Oct 15 02:32 AM
    The 'ideology' of buying fewer gifts or spending less on gifts is awesome, but the reality is something else altogether. My mother has been saying 'No more big Christmas Mornings' for years, but when push comes to shove, it's always more than she intended.

    I think savvy shoppers will search out all avenues to try and get the best deal, including online auctions... and I don't see eBay doing any better than the alternative sites percentage-wise. It's going to be who offers the best deal for the money. Sellers at OnlineAuction.com sell their items for much less than most eBay sellers because they have no fees. I think that alone is going to make a difference, just the same as Free Shipping is going to make a difference this year. Perks and freebie gifts are also going to be incentives. For example, I include a free guest soap with every order... the bigger the order, the more freebies included. Those freebies translate into extra 'no cost' gifts.

    Now, the REALLY savvy shopper starts buying the day after Christmas, not only for next years Christmas gifts, but for birthdays, anniversaries, graduation, etc. as well.

    Reply
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