Surprised? More Men Are Last-Minute Shoppers
Retailers Expect Big Crowds Christmas Eve
POSTED: Thursday, December 22, 2005
UPDATED: 1:55 pm EST December 22,
2005
In keeping with a holiday tradition, last-minute shoppers this holiday season are more likely to be men, according to a new survey.
The National Retail Federation said entering last weekend, 17.9 percent of men had not even started their holiday shopping, compared to 12.5 percent of women.
The NRF study found that overall, more than 30 million Americans had not yet started their shopping.
Finished Shopping?"Retailers won’t be surprised to see an increase of men frantically shopping in their stores over the next few days,” said Tracy Mullin, president and CEO of the National Retail Federation. "When it comes to shopping, men have notoriously been procrastinators. With the end of the holiday season in sight, they know that the true countdown has begun and the pressure is on to find that perfect gift."
The study found, that as of last weekend, 12.4 percent of consumers said they had completely finished their shopping.
The NRF said with so many consumers still looking to find all the gifts on their holiday list, retailers can expect to see crowded stores this Saturday.
"Retailers customarily see high sales the week before Christmas and are preparing themselves for even more foot traffic this Saturday when even the worst procrastinators will be hitting the stores," said Phil Rist, a spokesman for BIGresearch, who conducted the study for the NRF.
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