Holiday shoppers are holding the line on what they spend for gift-giving, but that doesn’t mean, Aunt Susie, you shouldn’t think twice about that ugly sweater you plan on giving Junior, a Connecticut bank’s shopping survey shows.
TD Bank, with branches throughout the state, released its latest holiday shopping survey showing more than half of consumers say they plan to spend the same this season as compared to last year. The majority say they expect to spend an average of $670 on gifts.
Twenty-nine percent said a family member (other than a parent, spouse or sibling) gave them the worst gift they’ve ever received, the bank’s survey found.
Sixty-seven percent of those polled intend to purchase gifts online this season and 22 percent said they prefer to do most, to all, holiday gift spending online.
Twenty-three percent of consumers named love as a primary reason for exceeding a personal spending limit. Other reasons include getting caught in the holiday spirit (39 percent) and simply not thinking about how much is being spent (18 percent).
Thirty-one percent of gift card recipients revealed they planned to use a gift card on everyday expenses (groceries, gas, etc.) rather than luxury items.
More than half of consumers polled said they’d prefer a VISA gift card.
Thirty-eight percent said they use credit cards to pay for gifts this year, followed by 31 percent who will use debit cards and 28 percent who will use cash.
