The 12 Weeks of Christmas: A Yahoo! Survey

Here's another article that points out the benefits to online shopping this Christmas.  This survey shows that buying online is now an accepted mode of buying gifts and will be a large portion of the Christmas spending market this year.

To me it is a "no brainer"--if I can get what I want and have it delivered where I want without having to drive across town and stand in lines, without being accosted by numerous strangers, without having to deal with tired, underpaid sales people who are just a little irritable, then I want to do it!

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When and what consumers will be buying this holiday season 
It wouldn’t surprise anyone to know that the recession has changed the way consumers think about spending, but the question on your minds right now is likely, “How will it affect my holiday sales in 2009?”
To help answer that question, Yahoo! worked with Decipher, Inc. to create the “12 Weeks of Christmas” Consumer Survey. The survey, conducted in October, polled 2587 online Americans . They told us when they’re planning to shop, what they plan to purchase across retail categories, where they plan to purchase, and what offers/promotions people are likely to take advantage of this holiday season. We’re broken it down a bit, to bring you the highlights:
Fears affect shopping
The majority of people polled (76%) said they were worried about the rising cost of basics such as gas, food and services. More than half (55%) said they felt the government isn’t doing enough to fix the economy and 52% of people polled said they that they were worried that the US won’t be able to get out of the recession. Almost half of people polled (48%) said they’re worried that something will happen to their income and they won’t be able to support their families.  So clearly the economy is weighs on consumers’ minds.
Now let’s take a look at how these concerns may impact holiday shopping. More than half of all people surveyed (53%) said they’re planning to cut back on holiday shopping because of the current economic situation. And 21% of people polled said they planned on making gifts, rather than buying.
According to the survey, the outlook for 2010 is more positive than negative, with 40% of people interviewed saying they were somewhat hopeful that the economy will improve in 2010. 18% said they were very hopeful for improvement and 9% said they were extremely hopeful. All told, the “hopefuls” totaled 68%, which far outweighs the “not hopefuls.”
Keeping pace with last year’s spending
The poll also found that holiday shopping is well underway for Yahoo visitors, with 35% saying they’ve already begun shopping, 27% saying they planned to start right after Thanksgiving and 15% saying they planned to actually start on Thanksgiving weekend. A brave 9% will start just days before Christmas, most likely those without children.
As for who’s getting what, the survey indicated that the majority of people polled (58%) planned to give gifts to spouses or significant others, followed up by parents (54%), children (54%), friends (44%), siblings (43%) and of course, themselves (28%). Interestingly, nearly a quarter (23%) of people polled said they’d spend on gifts for pets, which should make for some very happy cats and dogs this holiday season.
Despite sentiment about the economy, many consumers polled plan to keep pace with their budgets from last year. 64% of people polled said they plan to spend about the same on their spouses/significant other as they did in 2008. 68% of people polled said they planned to spend the same on parents and 63% said they planned to maintain the same spending amount on their children. Of all the potential recipients, planned spending was down the most for friends (31%) and the consumers themselves (33%).
Internet buying is big
Internet shopping is expected to be big in 2009. 58% of people polled said they planned to shop/research purchases both online and in stores for the 2009 holidays and 58% said they plan to actually purchase gifts both online and in stores. 31% of people polled said they shop and research online only and 9% indicated they planned to actually purchase gifts online only. Additionally, the time that consumers will spend shopping online is on the rise: 50% of people polled said they intend to use the Internet more this year to research holiday gifts than they did last year and 48% said that the economy is a direct reason that they intend to more shopping online in 2009.
The study also indicated that coupons and promotions are a huge factor in holiday shopping, with 84% of people polled indicating that they’re likely to take advantage of price discounts or sales this holiday season. 73% said that they plan to take advantage of free shipping and 61% said that they would likely use coupons from magazines and newspapers. Over half of people polled (55%) said that they planned to take advantage of online coupons or discounts for their holiday shopping.
Lastly, the study also indicates that Yahoo! shoppers appear to be the heaviest shoppers and buyers across multiple retail channels.
So what does all this mean? Well it means that the Internet is becoming critical to the shopping process. Nearly 90% will be using the online space for shopping/researching and more than 70% will use it to purchase gifts. Without a doubt, online shopping is on the minds of consumers, so advertisers should be prepared to take advantage of it, come the holidays.
We may not be out the tunnel just yet, but as the 12 Weeks of Christmas survey indicates—there is absolutely a light at the end of it.

—Noah Belson, Content Quality Editor

Photo courtesy of Flickr user Benson Kua.

You can read the original article here.

Will there be enough stock to last until Christmas?

It seems that everywhere you look, you will find someone or something telling you that stores have a short supply of items this year due to the recession.  It's in every newspaper you read, on every computer screen where you read news, or on the television nightly news.  What you hear is that if you haven't already bought your Christmas items, you may be out of luck.

So, with Thanksgiving here and only 29 days left until Christmas, you may succumb to suggestion from the press and run right out to buy, buy, buy!  What you really should be doing is taking a long look at your Christmas list and giving careful consideration to the likes and dislikes of those on it.  If indeed store's stocks are limited and we are in a recession so money is tight, then you need to tailor the gift to the recipient, now more than ever before. 

If you are buying for a student, a scholar,  someone who commutes, someone who reads a lot, or just a book lover this year, then consider buying The Kindle Reader from Amazon.

One of the hottest items this season is the electronic reader.  This is a device that holds entire books, newspapers, magazines and such and can fit into small spaces for easy toting.  The news has been telling us about a shortage of these readers since before Thanksgiving.  Maybe you need to look into the original reader from the source, Amazon.  This is a company that prepares for the holiday season as they ship all over the world. 

For more information about this item, please visit The Kindle reader, or stop by Christmas Shopper's Delight now to order yours before these are all gone, too!

Black Friday Deals: Do You Know Where the Sales Are?

 In two days it will be BLACK FRIDAY and everywhere you go or look will be having huge sales in preparation for Christmas.  The crowds will the large and possible anxious because the news has been telling everyone that there may not be enough stock to go around this year due to the recession.

Because so many people look to this day for price-slashed deals to do Christmas shopping, it is necessary that you be prepared and know exactly what you need to do.  This article shows you some tactics to use in your preparations.

Go to the original article to read the other stories as well.  You can get more useful information to make this Christmas season a great one!

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Mellody Hobson Brings You the Best Deals, Online and Off This Holiday Season

By KATE McCARTHY

Nov. 24, 2009—

Millions of shoppers will hit the stores this weekend in search of the best Black Friday deals. This holiday season the average household is expected to spend $683 on gifts, according to the National Retail Federation.
But where should you head to find the best buys?
"Good Morning America" financial contributor Mellody Hobson tells you where you can find the best holiday sales on black Friday and beyond.
Do You Have a Black Friday Strategy? Share Your Story With ABC News.
Hobson suggested Best Buy's "Doorbusters," which offer deals on everything from laptops to digital cameras. For instance, there is a 10 megapixel digital camera for $49.99, down from $99.99
Or try Walmart, which is offering a $78 blu-ray player.
But if you prefer clothes to gadgets Hobson suggested looking at Target. It is selling men's jeans, khakis or dress pants for $8.
But Hobson cautioned that because retailers have cut their inventories this year there may not be as many discounts as last year and some items may be hard to find.
For example, Hobson pointed to one of this year's most popular gifts, a Zhu Zhu Pets Hamster. It is a battery-operated toy hamster which was selling for $8. But because of its popularity most stores are sold out and now these Hamsters are being sold upwards of $60 on E-Bay or Amazon.
Hobson said that although some retailers will have those popular items in stock, she warned that they might only be available in the store, not online, and quantities could be limited to one per person.

How to Keep Track of the Sales

Retailers have been advertising their black Friday sales in newspapers and online, but keeping track of all of them can quickly become overwhelming.
Hobson suggested a few helpful Web sites which compile the information for you.
CyberMonday, Black Friday Ads and BlackFriday.info all post ads, special offers and other helpful shopping information for a variety of major retailers. For example, Hobson said shoppers can search more than 550 retailers on CyberMonday by item to find the best deals.

How to Brave the Black Friday Crowds

If you decide to fight the crowds Hobson has a few suggestions on the best way to shop.
First, be sure to read the fine print in the circulars. Some items may come with a caveat such as "while supplies last" or "one per person."
Hobson said it can also help to team-up and arrive early. Stores such as Best Buy hand out tickets for their most popular items in an attempt to control the post-Thanksgiving chaos.

Cyber Monday is the New Black Friday for Online Retailers

If you decide to avoid the crowds and stay home to shop online you should know that Cyber Monday is to online retailers what Black Friday is to traditional stores, according to Hobson.
The Monday after Thanksgiving is considered the kick-off day to the online holiday shopping season. But Hobson cautioned that if you shop online for popular items that have limited quantities you may receive an e-mail after you place your order that your item is on backorder or that it's out of stock.
CLICK HERE to return to the "Good Morning America" Web site.

Copyright © 2009 ABC News Internet Ventures

Read the original article here

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10 reasons you should do your Christmas shopping online

Image by joanieofarc via Flickr

For your pleasure, here is an article about reasons to shop online--as if you really needed to see reasons in black and white!  There is a good point here, I think at #6.  With all the ruckus about H1N1 and Flu season, who wouldn't want to avoid all that unknown exposure?

Anyway, read the article and then get crackin' online.  Time's a-wasting!
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By COUPON SHERPA
http://www.couponsherpa.com/

The crowds, the fluorescent lights, the sales clerks who ignore you and the lines, lines, lines. Some people love Christmas shopping. I assume they also like sleeping on a bed of nails.

Here are 10 reasons you should consider shopping online.

1. Unique gifts: You can find the coolest and most unusual stuff online. From remote-controlled Ferraris at hipstergifts.com to Gummi Army Guys at stupid.com, it's all out there. You just have to look. And as with all shopping, looking is half the fun.

2. Find exactly what you want: Need a Hello Kitty purse for your niece or a Transformer action figure for your nephew? It's all there and Google makes it easy to find. The "toy of the year" may be sold-out early on toy sites, but check eBay and you'll probably find it. Of course the eBay price will be higher than retail on that hot item, but your daughter won't be disappointed come Christmas morning - if that's your goal.

3. Crowds: IMHO, not having to fight overzealous crowds is the very best part of shopping online. Plus, you can cook dinner while sitting at your computer, so no pizzza dinner after an exhausting day of dealing with overzealous shoppers.

4. Sleep in: It's beyond my understanding why anyone would camp out in front of Best Buy on Black Friday, only to find the five rock-bottom-priced laptops advertised in the Thanksgiving newspaper were picked off by employees before the doors opened. Online shopping allows you to sleep in and leisurely stroll to your computer at a reasonable hour. Heck, you can even shop at midnight, after the kids are in bed and you have some private time.

5. Keep it secret: Have your gift-wrapped purchases delivered close to Christmas and you don't have to worry about hiding them from inquisitive little fingers (or the bigger fingers of nosey spouses).

6. No germs: How many people ignore a cold and still go shopping, where they spread all those yucky germs? There's no chance of catching swine flu (sorry, H1N1) from your computer, although you can catch a virus.

7. No snarky clerks: Sure many of the clerks have a reason to be irritated. Shoppers can be nasty, aggressive and cheap. Worst of all, many clerks know they'll be canned immediately after post-Christmas sales. Blessedly, there are no clerks online and, thus, no one to hassle you.

8. Dress code: You can shop online in your pajamas or sweat pants. Need I say more? And that coffee your drinking is homemade - not an expensive mocha drink from Starbucks that you waited half an hour in line to buy and the "barista" got it wrong.

9. Better deals: Super hot deals offered by brick-and-mortar stores are picked off by the first 10 people in line. You can easily compare prices and find great deals online without the chance of being trampled.

10. Shipping: Have your gifts shipped directly to your home or to the recipient; whichever works best for you. If you like, online stores will even gift-wrap presents and slip in a personalized card. You'll reduce your holiday stress and avoid the lines at the post office. Many online stores offer free shipping.

(Coupon Sherpa is the penny pinching, coupon clipping, deal digging, Himalyan haggling, he-man of bargains. Visit http://www.couponsherpa.com/ for more shopping advice, insider tips, and coupons.)

© 2007 Belleville News-Democrat and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. http://www.belleville.com

Go here to see the original article

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Black Friday is Coming!!!

I received this in my email today from Amazon.com.  I know that many people will be up before dawn on Friday this week to begin their Christmas shopping.  There is always another way to do your shopping and that is to do it online.  You can avoid the traffic, parking, crowds, finding your item out of stock, etc.
Yes, you do have to pay postage, but how much is all the aggravation really worth to you?  What is your time worth?

Believe me, there will be more and more of these types of ads online, so you need to do yourself a favor and start shopping online!

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Ready or not, it's here

Posted by Jill Boynton November 20, 2009 11:11 AM

It’s not even Thanksgiving yet, but the Christmas season is in full force as evidenced by the commercials, ads and catalogs I’ve seen in the past two weeks. Retailers are hoping that consumers will not scrimp on holiday giving, as this time of year often determines a company’s profit, especially small companies. Many families are on tight budgets or feeling financial constraints, but no one wants to disappoint their family at Christmas. If you’re on a budget this year, here are some tips for keeping the holiday giving in check:

1.Determine an overall budget for the holidays. Make a list of everyone you will be buying gifts for as well as expenses associated with parties, meals, etc. Set a limit on what you’ll spend on gifts. If the total cost is too much for your paycheck, adjust the budget until you’re able to pay for everything from your current income, instead of putting purchases on a credit card and worrying about the bill next year.

2.Consider group gifts. This works really well in large families. I have 6 nieces and nephews on one side of my family. My siblings and I decided years ago to assign one sibling to each niece/nephew. We purchase one gift on behalf of all the aunts and uncles at a reasonable cost, such as $50 or $75. That is less than the cost of 6 gifts, and the child gets one nice gift instead of 6 small ones.

3.Set expectations with your children. Let them know the gifts will be smaller, or less in number than previous years. Talk about things you can do together to celebrate the holidays that doesn’t involve buying “stuff.” You might be surprised at what your children come up with.

4.Pay with cash or a debit card. Leave the credit cards at home.
Let’s here from you – what ideas have you come up with to reduce the budget, but increase the fun for the holiday season?

Even with finances tight, I hope everyone will find one extra dollar here or there to stuff into the Salvation Army kettle, or buy a toy for Toys For Tots. We all need to remember to be thankful for what we have.

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Christmas Shopping Advice for Women

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Here's an article from the UK, but the information is sound and surprisingly funny!

This article was written by a man to assist women buying presents for the man in their lives by helping them think "like a man".  Most women will tell you that buying for a man is the most difficult present they have to get, so this article comes at the right time.  Read on ladies and learn how to really please your man this Christmas!

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Author: Scott Morein

Published: 20th November 2009 10:35

Following our recent article offering some invaluable advice on the subject of how to shop successfully for women this Christmas (Christmas Shopping Advice for Men), regular AboutMyArea visitor Scott Morein offers a riposte on behalf of the menfolk of Neston...

8 out of 10 women in Neston say the single most delightful thing about Christmas is spending fantastically extensive amounts of time in shops, finding the right gift for the man / significant other (delete as appropriate) in their life.

It has been said that 75% of all statistics are made up on the spot, however this particular little pearl of wisdom is from the informed position of one who has had to so the waiting, whilst women spend extensive amounts of time in shops.
This time is not spent finding the right gift for the man / significant other, it is just time spent being indecisive and preparing a mental inventory of every stock item that might be different from whence they last frequented the store only a day or so earlier.
Some women believe that men are generally lazy and disorganised, and this is the force behind the lack of motivation for the shopping trip. Men generally however, like you to think this, and will use subtle methods to entrench this belief in the fairer mind.
There are of course some women who believe to the very depths of their core that they know what men want from the shops, but on behalf of the more subtle sex, a few hints, tips and suggestions that will not necessarily make your shopping easier, but hopefully, will make it more successful.
Size Does Matter
The thought and beauty of a well-crafted piece of jewellery, or carefully considered book will always receive thanks but inside, he is crushed to the core. Big parcels, regardless of content are always successful. Ideally, big parcels containing multiple items, regardless of any relationship between the items, is even better.
Premature Presentation Is Good
Any parent will know that once it is known a gift exists in the house, great anticipation and anxiety commences within the heart of the recipient. Men prefer to get it over with, and rarely see the point in delaying this with a lengthy exhaustive build up to a certain climactic date and time. If you have it, let him have it.
Apply The Mother Test
If your Mother would either disapprove or not understand, then you are half way there.
Boys And Their Toys
Some oft repeat the axiom that boys don't grow up; their toys just get bigger. A good rule of thumb is that if it requires construction or is self-propelled, and has 'for ages 8 & over' written on the box, then this will be just fine.
Socks, Pants & Jumpers
Socks: Good.
Pants: Fine.
Jumpers: No.
It's Not About Him, It's About Who He Used To Be
Do not under any circumstance proffer anything that is intentioned to change habits, behaviours or interests. He became entrenched in his ways on the way home from school aged 13 so there is no point trying. Self help books, exercise regimes, grooming products etc. will all generate polite thanks to you, and misery in him.
No Car/Motorcycle Accessories
He may have his heart set on some car accessory or similar, but even if you have found the exact manufacturer's specification & barcode for the item that he is considering having tattooed on the inside of his eyelids, do not buy it;  it will not be the right one. Don't ask me to explain, just trust me on this one.
Lingerie
This is a lifestyle choice beyond the remit of these comments.
So to conclude, make it big, make it quick, make sure your mother disapproves, ensure it will occupy great amounts of his time, respect his mental age but above all, ignore what he thinks he wants. Men rarely if ever know their own mind.
Scott Morein

To read the original article>>click here