• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, November 22, 2002

Dolls, Games and Clothes, Not Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Maybe you're not merchandising or advertising dolls for Christmas, but, here's what you're up against according to the findings of a new National Retail Federation (NRF) survey. The second installment of the NRF 2002 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch for NRF, also indicates that Play Station items will be hot for boys and that apparel will be the top gift for adults.

More than 8500 consumers were polled on the "hot toy" that they planned to purchase for children. An overwhelming 46.9 percent of consumers buying gifts for girls will be on the lookout for Barbie merchandise.

In adult gift-giving, apparel leads the pack, with 59.3 percent of consumers planning to purchase clothing or clothing accessories as gifts this season. Books, CDs, and DVDs were a close second at 58.5 percent, followed by gift cards/gift certificates (45.0%) and toys (38.6%).

Though almost 40.0 percent of consumers began their holiday shopping in October or before, survey results project that most shopping is yet to come. So far, 64.6 percent of consumers have completed less than 10.0 percent of their shopping. Young adults seem to be waiting to shop this season—almost 81.7 percent of adults 18-24 have finished less than 10.0 percent of their holiday shopping. Only 2.7 percent of consumers are finished with their holiday shopping.

Consumers will continue to shop sensibly this year the study says, with 33.2 percent of consumers using cash for gift purchases this season. Other methods included check/debit cards (27.3%), credit cards (26.8%), and personal checks (12.7%).

NRF continues to project an increase of 4.0 percent in holiday sales this year over last year, bringing estimated revenues to $209.3 billion this holiday season.

This year’s hottest toys

	Percentage of Planned Purchases
Girls' Toys
Barbie/Rapunzel Barbie	46.88%
Bratz	6.13%
Dora the Explorer	3.33%
Leap Frog	3.01%
Elmo/Chicken Dance Elmo	2.18%
Harry Potter	2.18%
American Girl	1.98%
Disney Related	1.77%
Fisher Price	1.56%
Playstation Related	1.56%
Boys' Toys
Playstation Related	9.17%
Spiderman	8.02%
Hot Wheels	5.94%
Legos	5.63%
Harry Potter	5.42%
Bob the Builder	5.10%
Game Boy Related	4.48%
Yugioh	3.65%
Leapfrog	2.40%
Star Wars	2.29%

You can find out more here.
Source: BIGresearch