The Bezoz pr machine is @ it again.
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SEATTLE, Dec. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- One in five Americans will wait until the week before Christmas to complete their holiday shopping, according to a new Roper Starch Survey sponsored by leading online retailer Amazon.com, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN).
Despite the fact that 70% of the last-minute shoppers surveyed cited traffic, crowds and lack of parking as major problems associated with putting off holiday shopping, 63% of them admitted they'll still wait this year until the week before Christmas to shop.
Why?
"Serious procrastinators rarely put things off because of other priorities or laziness -- they're perfectionists," explains world-renowned psychologist Dr. Joyce Brothers. "They want to find the perfect holiday gift, and anything less, they tend to think, is failure."
In fact, the survey found that, among these late shoppers, 42% wait until the last minute because they're searching for the perfect present for everyone on their list.
One unusual solution to last minute shopping is an e-mail gift certificate from Amazon.com. E-mail gift certificates can be ordered anytime -- even as late as Christmas day -- and still be sent to the recipient's electronic mailbox within one hour. The electronic gift certificate can then be redeemed for the "perfect" gift at Amazon.com, the Internet's No. 1 music and No. 1 book retailer.
For shoppers who find themselves in this stressful predicament, Dr. Brothers also suggests these solutions to ease last-minute shopping pressures:
-- "When time is running out, let go of the perfectionism and focus on
speed and convenience. Remember, what you give should not be as
important as the idea of giving itself."
-- "Look for time-saving services such as 'personal shoppers,'
gift-certificates, gift-wrapping and direct shipping to the recipient."
-- "Don't try to do everything yourself; enlist the help of the entire
family and give each member a project."
"An e-mail gift certificate is the ideal last-minute present, even on Christmas morning," said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com. "The recipient can then use the gift certificate to purchase the perfect gift from the Internet's largest selection of books, videos, music, as well as toys and electronics. And there's no hassle -- don't wait in line, go online."
"The key when the clock is running down," Dr. Brothers says, "is to seek alternative shopping venues, such as the Internet, which can meet the demands you need as a last-minute shopper."
For more information about Amazon.com e-mail gift certificates, visit www.amazon.com/gifts.
The survey of Americans' holiday shopping habits was conducted in October by Roper Starch and covered 1,000 randomly selected participants nationwide who were interviewed by telephone. The survey results have a sampling error of plus or minus 4 points for results among all adults surveyed and plus or minus 7 points for results among last-minute shoppers.
About Amazon.com, Inc.
Amazon.com, Inc., the Internet's No. 1 book and No. 1 music retailer, opened its virtual doors on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and quickly became Earth's Biggest Bookstore(SM). Today, the Amazon.com store has expanded to offer more than 3 million books, music CDs, videos, DVDs, computer games, and other titles, plus secure credit card payment, personalized recommendations, and streamlined ordering through 1-Click(SM) technology.
Amazon.com operates two international bookstore Web sites: www.amazon.co.uk in the United Kingdom and www.amazon.de in Germany. Amazon.com also operates PlanetAll (www.planetall.com), a Web-based address book, calendar, and reminder service. It also operates the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com), the Web's comprehensive and authoritative source of information on more than 150,000 movies and entertainment programs and 500,000 cast and crew members dating from the birth of film in 1892 to the present.
This announcement contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, Amazon.com's limited operating history, the unpredictability of its future revenues, and risks associated with capacity constraints, management of growth, and new business opportunities.
More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com's financial results is included in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1997, and the quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 1998.
Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Internet Movie Database, PlanetAll, Earth's Biggest Bookstore, and 1-Click are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. All other names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
SOURCE Amazon.com
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