Last minute Christmas shoppers outspent consumers who shopped earlier: Report
Procrastinating consumers spent vastly more than others at florists, outlets in 2019, LendingTree found
Last-minute shoppers are likely to spend big for Christmas presents, a report from LendingTree suggests.
Analyzing 29,000 anonymous transactions from 2019, the personal finance firm found that last-minute Christmas shoppers spent anywhere from $96 to $266 on average between Dec. 23 and Dec. 24.
Across 10 store categories, procrastinating gift-givers reportedly spent the least at department stores and the most at outlets.
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Compared to consumers who bought their Christmas gifts earlier, the last minute crowd outspent them, according to LendingTree’s findings.
Florists and outlet stores saw the largest spending difference between the two groups. Normal December shoppers spent $97 for holiday flowers on average versus last-minute shoppers who spent $219 on average. Meanwhile, normal December shoppers spent $140 at outlets on average versus last-minute shoppers who spent $266 on average.
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The trend continued in 8 other store categories LendingTree analyzed, including pawnshops, hobby and collectibles, arts and crafts, children stores, computers and electronics, beauty products, digital purchases and discount stores.
When it comes down to which items last-minute shoppers flocked towards, sporting goods were the most popular with sales between Dec. 23 and Dec. 24 up 194% more than the monthly average. Toys were a very close second at 193%.
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Rounding out the top 5 were cards and stationery up 164%, jewelry and watches up 151% and furniture and home décor up 137%.
Last minute shoppers are likely to spend more on Christmas presents than people who made purchases earlier in December, a report from LendingTree suggests. (iStock)
Other highly popular items included books, clothing and accessories, pets, arts and crafts and gifts from discount stores – all of which saw sales that exceeded 100% in those two days compared to the rest of December.
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In a separate survey from LendingTree, 19% of U.S. consumers considered themselves last-minute shoppers while 17% said they do most of their gift shopping on Black Friday or Cyber Monday and 31% said they do most of their shopping in the fall. A quarter of consumers said they finished their shopping in early October.