• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, December 29, 2014

Holiday sales as compared to overall annual retail sales have been trending downward for about a decade. Holiday sales in 2013, at $663.5 billion, were 18.7% of overall retail sales, well below the peak of 19.6% seen in 2004. However, online shopping is prolific this year.

The Center For Media Research Briefs for this week will focus on collecting documented data experience useful for planning, and anecdotal forecasts of conditions, situations, technology and change for 2015. These may not be actionable “reader relevant” approaching the first week in 2015, but rather the beginning of a marketing data base for seasonal shopping in 2015.

According to new Mintel research conducted this month, 67% of online holiday shoppers planned to buy at least half of their presents online.

This already high statistic increases among:

• Millennials (80%)
• Generation X (72%)
• Those with children 6-11 in the home (85%)
• Larger households in general (76% among those with five or more in the home).

Overall, 86% intended to do at least some shopping online, higher than the 79% shopping via this channel last year.

32% of holiday shoppers started shopping before Thanksgiving. 14% of adults 25-34 and 13% of men 18-34 claimed they would do it the day before or the week before.

59% of respondents would like to receive gift cards, followed by

• Clothing and footwear (46%)
• Electronics (39%)
• Jewelry and accessories (29%)
• Beauty and personal care (29%).

All categories were significantly more desired by women except for electronics, which appealed more to men and 18-24 shoppers.

The top items people would like to receive are the same ones people plan to buy for others. 55% planned to buy Gift cards for others (up vs. 46% previously). And fresh or prepared food was the third listed planned/preferred item in the survey by 42%.

65% of respondents agreed that "Items that fit into my overall holiday shopping budget" is more important than "Getting the right items for recipients regardless of price." This response was more pronounced among women, 25-34 year-olds, and Hispanics and Blacks, while those with household income of $150K+ and men 55+ are the most likely groups to think getting the right items is more important than price.

Please visit Mintel here for additional information.