Most Consumers Have Completed Less Than Half of Holiday Shopping

Consumers are less than half-way done with their holiday shopping this season, a new survey released Wednesday by the National Retail Federation (NRF) has found.   

The average person had completed 46.7 percent of their holiday shopping by the second week of December, less than the 47.1 percent surveyed in 2008. Interestingly, the survey, which polled over 9,000 consumers, found that nearly 42 million people (19.1 percent) had not even started their shopping as of late last week.

Retailers offering last-minute promotions can look to target adults 45-54 year-olds, who have completed the least amount of shopping (44.1 percent)  so far and steer clear of adults over 65 years old who have completed most of their gift shopping (50 percent),.

The majority of shoppers surveyed (35 percent) said they plan to finish up their holiday list by Saturday, December 19, which will allow the respondents who said they plan to buy their last gift on Christmas Eve (11.9 percent) to shop more peacefully.