Recession? Bah Humbug!
- by January 11, 2001
Confidence remains high among these men, with a full 41% stating that the economy will work itself out, and 14% believing that rumors of a recession are just media hype. In addition, more than 62% feel that a recession would not affect them at the workplace, and 38% are still investing in the stock market.
MAXIM commissioned the holiday buying study with Qualify Ideas (www.qualifyideas.com), one of the nation's premier online research organizations, to identify the holiday buying behaviors and characteristics among today's most affluent young men. The study was fielded in two phases: the first shortly before the country's busiest retail season; the second immediately after the Christmas holiday.
While more than two-thirds of the respondents (68%) cited in the pre-holiday survey that they would be purchasing gifts for six or more people, consumer confidence ran strong with 69% of those surveyed actually purchasing six or more gifts this year.
So whom did these men spend their hard earned money on this season? Clearly not Mom and Dad. When asked who receives the greatest attention for gift giving, 39% cited their partners as the person they spent the most on this season. Sixty-one percent of men said they spent between $100 and $500 on their partner, while 47% said they spent the same amount on their parents; 13% of men spent between $500 and $1000 on their partner.
While the majority of men tended to shop in department stores (71%), 39% of them went online to buy gifts this holiday season. Given that 88% of MAXIM readers have Internet access, with 48% surfing the web at least once a day, it came as no surprise that 66% of the men surveyed said they intend to do their holiday shopping online next year.
An astounding 94% of men surveyed said they had a good shopping experience this season, but how could holiday shopping for the guys be made easier? Exactly half of the men said a directory showing where to find specific gifts within the store would help.
