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HAVE YOU FINISHED YOUR HOLIDAY SHOPPING?

These poll numbers were released earlier today by Rasmussen Reports -- "an electronic publishing firm specializing in the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information."

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7% Already Have Finished Their Holiday Shopping

Friday, November 27, 2009

While Christmas is still several weeks away, seven percent (7%) of Americans say they've already completed their holiday shopping.

But a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey also finds that 57% of adults say they haven't even begun shopping yet. Forty-one percent (41%) have started. Ninety percent (90%) of all adults say they aren't done yet.

Not surprisingly, 45% of women say they've begun their holiday shopping, while only 37% of men say the same. Still, nine percent (9%) of men say they've finished their shopping, compared to five percent (5%) of women.

Fifty-three percent (53%) of all Americans say they generally finish their holiday shopping early, but 37% say they wait until the last minute. More men (45%) tend to wait till the last minute than women (30%).

When Americans are shopping for gifts this year, 37% plan to pay cash. Twenty-seven percent (27%) say they will use their debit card, while another 25% intend to pay with a credit card. Five percent (5%) will pay by check, and three percent (3%) will use layaway to string out payment.

The day after Thanksgiving is one of the biggest shopping days of the year and has been dubbed Black Friday. Thirty-four percent (34%) of adults say they're likely to shop on Black Friday, but 65% plan to skip the sales that day.

In a reflection of the continuing bad economy, just eight percent (8%) of adults plan to spend more this year than last year. That's a little over half the number who planned to spend more last holiday season. Nearly three-out-of-four adults (71%) will spend less this year, while 19% think they'll spend about the same amount this season as they did a year ago.

These findings come as the Discover (R) Consumer Spending Monitor, a measure of consumer spending confidence, showed a three-point drop in October .

Adults who earn between $60,000 and $75,000 a year plan to spend more this holiday season than those in any other income bracket.

To avoid checkout lines and the holiday shopping crush, 10% of adults say they plan to do most, if not all, of their shopping online. A plurality (42%) say they don't intend to do any online shopping. Thirty-five percent (35%) plan some shopping online, while 11% say they will do about half of their shopping that way.

Just before Christmas last year , ten percent (10%) said they did all their holiday shopping online while another 12% did at least half their shopping by clicking at an online store. Forty-seven percent (47%) said that they didn't buy any Christmas gifts online.

Most adults who use the Internet at least occasionally say they are very or somewhat comfortable using credit cards to make purchases online .

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To view the original report, please use this link: These Guys Have Already Dropped

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