Christmas Countdown... 7 days to go
Ooh, if you've been putting off that shopping, you better brace yourself... because it's going to get KEEERAZY this weekend.
Consumer Reports is saying that the last week leading up to the holidays is gonna get Hectic with a capital H because one-third (or 35 percent) of Americans still have not started their shopping yet. CR's latest poll also found that 24 percent will not finish shopping until Dec. 23 or later, and 10 percent will put it to Xmas Eve. Five percent of shoppers won't finish up their shopping until after Dec. 25.
How exactly does that work, you ask?
(Sun Photographer Doug Kapustin)
Many on-line retailers are expected to benefit from last-minute shopping with more than one quarter (or 29 percent) of consumers expecting to make online purchases before the holidays. CR says, and about four in ten online shoppers anticipate purchasing additional items they did not intend to buy in order to take advantage of free shipping or other promotional discounts. Such last minute shoppers, about a quarter (or 24 percent) expect to pay more for expedited delivery to cover for their tardiness.
Now, here's the part that warms my heart, since I've been fretting about consumer debt.
CR predicted in October that this season's shopping will be slower and spending will be down. In the recent poll, 3 in 10 consumers figured on spending less this season and only 16 percent expected to spend more. About half (or 53 percent) expected their spending not to change from last year.
Also, holiday shoppers said they expect to spend an average of $763 this season. The biggest spenders are married households, which expect to fork out $900 this season. Married men topped the charts, expecting to spend $1,041. Now, the cynic in me is wondering why married men feel they have to spend so much more money.... hmmm?
The good news is that CR found that about half (52 percent) paid off last year's holiday credit card debt by the end of Jan. 2007. On the down side, nearly one-third (32 percent) were still paying off their holiday bills in March or later. The consumers who took the longest to pay off their cards were women at 36 percent! C'mon ladies, let's prove them wrong this year! Pay it off in January! Don't give credit card companies more money than you have to.
This year, CR's poll shows that nearly two-thirds (or 65 percent ) plan to retire their holiday debt by the end of January! I'm not part of the poll, but if I stick to my spending plan (which has been more difficult than I anticipated), I'm hoping to pay off my holiday debt in January, too! Wish me luck!
