Caution ahead of the holidays
Conference Board's survey indicates shoppers will be spending less on gifts this year.
November 24, 2003: 3:36 PM EST
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Americans will become thriftier this holiday season and rein in spending compared to last year, hunting for the best bargain rather than the glitziest gift, a survey said Monday.
U.S. households on average are expected to slash gift spending to $455 from the $483 spent last year, according to the Conference Board, a private research group.
"Consumer caution heading into Thanksgiving may very well spill over into the holiday shopping season," said Lynn Franco, Director of the Conference Board's Consumer Research Center.
The survey of 5,000 families found that 30 percent plan to spend less than $200 during the 2003 holiday season, and most shoppers will be hunting for discounts rather than glitz.
"It now seems clear that most consumers will be shopping for bargains this season," said Franco. "Firms offering the best deals are likely to chalk up the biggest sales gains."
About 28 percent of respondents to the survey said they would purchase gifts online, up from 27 percent a year ago. Of those, about 44 percent said books would be their gift of choice, followed by clothing and shoes.
Less than 4 percent said they would buy expensive computer hardware as presents.
The Conference Board's findings differ from those of a joint report from the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi and UBS published on Nov. 11, which forecasted a strong holiday season for retailers compared with the prior year, particularly for clothiers. Last year, a weak job market and concerns over an impending war in Iraq dampened consumer enthusiasm, BTM/UBS said. |
