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26% of Americans Got an Earlier-Than-Usual Jump on Holiday Shopping

Written by

Edited by

Dan Shepard

Xiomara Martinez-White

Updated on: December 23rd, 2021

Editorial Note: The content of this article is based on the author's opinions and recommendations alone. It may not have been reviewed, commissioned or otherwise endorsed by any of our network partners.

With Christmas days away, some of us might not be feeling the hair-pulling stress of waiting until the 11th hour to get holiday shopping done. Fear, as they say, can be a powerful motivating force.

A recent survey from ProGlove, a German engineering company focused on smart wearable technology, shows more than 1 in 4 U.S. consumers (26%) who never start early got a jump on their holiday shopping this year because of shipping delays.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

The majority of shoppers didn’t wait until the last minute
Santa might not be on time: Out-of-stock fears, shipping delay concerns top shoppers’ worries
1 in 3 U.S. consumers shopping equally online and in-store

The majority of shoppers didn’t wait until the last minute

Some shoppers got a head start checking off items on their gift list this year because of shipping delays. Here’s where other consumers stood in October, when the survey was conducted:

Planned to get an early start but hadn’t yet (45%)
Expected to start at the same time as usual (27%)
Expected to start later than usual (4%)

Another 5% said they didn’t know.

Santa might not be on time: Out-of-stock fears, shipping delay concerns top shoppers’ worries

The reasons so many folks got a jump on their holiday shopping were concerns about:

Shipping delays (78%)
Retailers not being able to keep up with shopper demand (74%)
Items potentially being out of stock (67%)
Gifts sent to faraway relatives not arriving on time (59%)

Just 6% of respondents said they didn’t expect shipping delays this holiday season. Meanwhile, nearly half (49%) thought shipping delays would increase this holiday season compared to 2020, while 32% felt that delays would remain the same.

1 in 3 U.S. consumers shopping equally online and in-store

While shoppers seemed to adapt to contactless payments, social distancing and other safety measures while perusing the aisles of brick-and-mortar retailers, online shopping is preferred.

Among those surveyed, 1 in 3 (33%) said they planned on doing half their holiday shopping online and half in stores. Nearly 3 in 10 (28%) shoppers said they expected to do mostly online shopping, while only 13% said they expected doing mostly offline shopping.

An equal percentage of shoppers said they would be doing all their shopping either online or in stores — 11% — while 4% said they didn’t know.

If you’ve incurred a balance on your credit card from holiday shopping this year, you could start the new year right by committing to paying it off within a reasonable amount of time. If you’re in the throes of consumerism and doing some last-minute holiday shopping, get cash from an ATM and use only what you take out. You could also consider using cashback credit card rewards to avoid a holiday debt hangover.

Methodology: ProGlove commissioned Dynata to conduct a survey of U.S. consumers in October 2021. Respondents needed to be between 18 and 65 years old and have a household income between $50,000 and $150,000. They also had to account for at least half of their household’s shopping.