Loyalty Programs and Discounts Key to Holiday Shoppers
Loyalty rewards and discounts played a big role in shopping plans this holiday season.
Almost 130 million Americans relied on the program as they shopped for gifts, according to a recent Ipsos Public Affairs/SoundBite Communications poll.
The survey highlights include:
* Sixty-two percent of respondents (almost 130 million Americans) planned to shop with particular retailers to take advantage of their loyalty programs, such as frequent shopper rewards, coupons or discounts.
* 23% planned to do all or most of their holiday shopping where they can take advantage of these programs.
* Loyalty programs are particularly powerful with parents with children under 18 and adults under 55.
* More than seven in 10 Americans say that in light of the current economic situation, they planned to look for more deals, sales or coupons from retailers than they did last year.
* Nearly 70 million Americans planned to send more cards or photos instead of gifts this holiday season.
* Nearly 35% of men said that they did not plan to look for deals more than they did last holiday shopping season. The survey found men do not pay attention to deals like women do, with women being much more likely than men to look for more deals and coupons prior to making a purchase this year (77% versus 65%).
* Six percent of respondents indicated more available credit would encourage them to increase their holiday budget. Westerners are more likely than residents of other regions of the country to say they would spend more than they would otherwise if they had an increased line of credit.
The survey was conducted by telephone with a random sample of 1,000 Americans ages 18 and older, and has a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
