• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, October 12, 2009

According to the results of a survey focused on consumer's 2009 holiday spending outlook by Burst Media, 62.8% of consumers plan to spend the same or cut back on their holiday purchases compared to 2008. Although consumers plan to hold tight with their spending this holiday season, 85.3% of respondents will shop online.

Only 14.6% of respondents expect to spend more this holiday season than they did in 2008, while 32.7% expect to spend less and 30.1% expect to spend about the same as they did last year. Interestingly, women will be more frugal than men this holiday season with 38.1% planning to spend less on gifts and entertainment, compared to 27.3% of all men.

All income segments will trim holiday spending this year, with:

• 29.5% of respondents reporting household income (HHI) of less than $35,000 cutting holiday spending,
• 46.3% of households reporting HHI of $35,000-$75,000
• 31.3% of households reporting HHI of $75,000 or more

The Internet has become a go-to holiday shopping resource. Despite the fact that 63% of consumers express concern over credit card security when making an online purchase, seven out of ten still plan to make an online holiday purchase on the Internet. Consumers will also use the Internet to "window shop". The most popular online window-shopping activities are comparing different retailers to find the best price (56.8%), and comparing the features of different brands (55.3%).

The Burst study also found that there does not seem to be a clear start to the holiday shopping season as only 13.6% respondents consider "Black Friday" (the day after Thanksgiving) to be the official kick-off.

Chuck Moran, Chief Marketing Officer for Burst Media, concludes  "...it is clear that the holiday shopping season for consumers has no definitive starting point... advertisers can start building awareness now... "

 

Please visit here for more about the study, and Burst Media.