Only 10% of US Consumers Completed Holiday Shopping

As retailers prepare for last minute shoppers before Christmas, a recent survey finds that only 10 percent of consumers have completed their shopping and the average consumer had completed only 52 percent of their gift buying as of last Wednesday.

The surprising numbers have retailers stocking up ahead of what is usually the busiest shopping week of the year.

The NRF 2003 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey revels that last year at this time, 15 percent of consumers had completed their shopping, while this year only 10 percent of consumers are finished.

“We are a nation of procrastinators,” laments NRF President and CEO Tracy Mullin. “With many consumers completing their holiday shopping - and some of them just starting - retailers are expecting crowded parking lots and heavy traffic this weekend”.

The Saturday before Christmas is the busiest shopping day of the year.

According to the survey, 49.8 percent of consumers plan to conduct the remainder of their holiday shopping at discount stores, while 43.6 percent plan to shop at department stores.

Nearly a third of consumers will be completing their shopping at specialty stores and online.

NRF continues to project that holiday sales will increase 5.7 percent this year to $217.4 billion, which would be the largest increase since 1999.