Holiday shopping: More women than men look forward to it, according to CBS News poll
By Fred Backus, Jennifer De Pinto, Anthony Salvanto
Not everyone loves shopping for the holidays. Forty-nine percent of Americans say they look forward to it, but nearly as many — 43 percent — dread it. Women and those under 30 are more enthusiastic about shopping for the holidays than men and older Americans.
Fifty-three percent of Americans plan to do most of their holiday shopping by going to stores in person, but the percentage of those shopping online has doubled from 2012, from 18 percent six years ago to 35 percent today.
Americans with higher incomes do more of their shopping online, and age is also a factor. About half of Americans under 30 do most of their shopping online now, but this is true of just 22 percent of seniors 65 and older.
Most Americans (59 percent) plan to spend the same amount of money on holiday gifts that they usually do. Few plan to spend more. Thirty percent say they'll spend less money this year.
As might be expected, Americans earning less are more likely to spend less. Four in 10 of those with household incomes below $50,000 a year plan to spend less, compared to 25 percent of Americans earning between $50,000 and $100,000 and 20 percent of those making over $100,000 a year.
This poll was conducted by telephone November 15-18, 2018 among a random sample of 1,103 adults nationwide. Data collection was conducted on behalf of CBS News by SSRS of Glen Mills, Pennsylvania. Phone numbers were dialed from samples of both standard land-line and cellphones.
The poll employed a random digit dial methodology. For the landline sample, a respondent was randomly selected from all adults in the household. For the cell sample, interviews were conducted with the person who answered the phone.
Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish using live interviewers. The data have been weighted to reflect U.S. Census figures on demographic variables.
The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus three percentage points. The error for subgroups may be higher and is available by request. The margin of error includes the effects of standard weighting procedures which enlarge sampling error slightly.
This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.
