Bulletin Poll: Holiday Spending
| Where do you purchase most of your holiday gifts? | ||
| 50-64 | 65+ | |
| Online | 11% | 2% |
| Through catalogs | 7% | 10% |
| At stores, malls, etc. | 72% | 65% |
| From street vendors | 2% | -- |
| Somewhere else | 1% | 2% |
| I don’t purchase holiday gifts | 7% | 18% |
| How much do you plan to spend for holiday gifts this year? | ||
| 50-64 | 65+ | |
| Less than $100 | 16% | 21% |
| $100-$199 | 12% | 10% |
| $200-$299 | 15% | 14% |
| $300-$399 | 11% | 9% |
| $400-$499 | 10% | 4% |
| $500 or more | 26% | 20% |
| Nothing; don’t plan to give gifts this year | 3% | 11% |
| Don’t know | 6% | 10% |
| Compared to last year, how much do you plan to spend on holiday gifts? | ||
| 50-64 | 65+ | |
| More than last year | 5% | 6% |
| About the same amount as last year | 57% | 58% |
| Less than last year | 36% | 32% |
| Don’t know | 2% | 4% |
| How do you plan to cut back on your spending for gifts? (asked of respondents who plan to give gifts and spend less than last year) |
||
| 50-64 | 65+ | |
| Buy only sale items | 23% | 27% |
| Do more comparison shopping | 16% | 23% |
| Buy fewer gifts | 56% | 35% |
| Make more homemade gifts | 12% | 12% |
| Use coupons | 11% | 9% |
| Spend/give less money | 2% | -- |
| Some other way | 2% | 6% |
| None of these | 9% | 5% |
| Don’t know | 2% | 1% |
| If you think you will spend less money on holiday gifts this year, what do you plan to do with the extra money? (asked of respondents who plan to give gifts and spend less than last year) |
||
| 50-64 | 65+ | |
| Put it in an emergency fund | 11% | 7% |
| Pay bills | 52% | 40% |
| Pay down debt | 13% | 12% |
| Save for retirement | 13% | 18% |
| No extra money | 5% | 7% |
| Other | 1% | 12% |
| Don’t know | 6% | 3% |
| Refused | 3% | 2% |
| How do you plan to pay for your gifts? | ||
| 50-64 | 65+ | |
| With cash, check or debit card | 77% | 78% |
| With credit card | 20% | 19% |
| With a layaway plan | 4% | 4% |
| Don’t know | 2% | 3% |
| Is the method of payment you intend to use this year the same as the one you used last year? | ||
| 50-64 | 65+ | |
| Yes | 87% | 88% |
| No | 12% | 7% |
| Don’t know | 1% | 4% |
| What method of payment did you use last year to pay for your holiday gifts? (asked of respondents whose method of payment will differ from last year) |
||
| 50-64 | 65+ | |
| With cash, check or debit card | 35% | 44% |
| With credit card | 51% | 58% |
| With a layaway plan | -- | 9% |
| Don’t know | 12% | -- |
Survey of 1,046 adults age 45 and older conducted by ICR between Sept. 23 and Oct. 4, 2009.
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