Holiday shopping is getting off to a slow start.
According to the National Retail Federation’s 2007 Holiday Consumer Intentions Survey, 71.4 percent of shoppers have less than 10 percent of their holiday shopping completed.
Even blockbuster promotions over the past two weeks at retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores, J.C. Penney Co. and Kohl’s Corp. did not lure consumers to make a dent in their holiday lists. However, a cold weather snap in key markets did drive traffic this past weekend.
“Retailers have tried to entice consumers into the stores with early sales and promotions this holiday season, but shoppers are clearly on their own schedule,” said Phil Rist, vice president of strategy at BIGresearch, a consumer market intelligence firm that conducted the survey.
Young adults ages 18 to 24 are the least prepared, with 76.2 percent finished with less than 10 percent of their shopping.
Gift cards will also continue to be a popular item. More than half of the respondents, 56.6 percent, said they plan on buying gift cards this year. “Because gift cards are never out of stock, consumers feel that they can wait until the last minute to start shopping,” Rist said. “Retailers may continue to wrestle with the best ways to bring people into the stores earlier this year.”
Although unseasonable weather curbed spending during October, the recent cold blast has produced a surge in winter goods, including outerwear and winter boots, according to a report by Planalytics, a weather analysis firm.
Tracy Mullin, president and chief executive officer of the NRF, said in a statement that “now that the weather has started to cool, consumers will start to think about holiday shopping by making lists, researching gift ideas and window-shopping around town.”