SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ebates®, the leader and pioneer in online cash back shopping, today announced the findings from its Holiday Shopping Survey. The survey of 2,429 Americans adults commissioned by Ebates and conducted online by Harris Interactive between October 28 and November 1, 2011 discovered that nearly all U.S. adults age 18+ who typically shop for gifts for the holiday season (96%) are dreading some aspect of holiday shopping, from waiting in line to feeling like they are not getting the best deal. In fact, 14% of Americans even admit to misbehaving in stores during the holidays, including cutting in line, fighting over a parking space, and even physically fighting over an item.
Most U.S. adults who typically shop for gifts for the holiday season (66%), dread battling crowds, making it the number one aspect of holiday shopping disliked by American holiday shoppers. In fact, a majority of online gift shoppers age 45-54 (57%) prefer shopping online in order to avoid crowds, which was significantly more likely than those age 18-34 (41%) and 55+ (45%) and slightly more likely than those age 35-44 (49%) (Data weighted to the U.S. online adult population).
Other activities holiday shoppers dread during the holiday season include: waiting in line (60%), trying to choose gifts people will like and use (41%), feeling like they were spending too much money (38%), finding out a certain item is out of stock (36%), traveling back and forth to different stores (35%), and feeling like they failed to get the best deal (17%).
Some U.S. adults let the stress of holiday shopping get to them and admitted to displaying these “mean manners”:
- Cutting in line – 6%
- Fighting over a parking space – 6%
- Parking in a handicapped spot – 4%
- Taking an item from someone else’s shopping cart – 3%
- Physically or verbally fighting with someone for an item in a store – 3%
- Other type of “mean manners” – 4%
Those age 18 – 54 were more likely than the 55+ group to admit to misbehaving, with those age 35-44 more likely to display mean manners than any other group.
“This survey shows why online shopping appeals to many Americans,” says Ebates CEO, Kevin H. Johnson. “In fact, the survey indicates that 83% of Americans plan to shop online this holiday season. When you shop online, you never have to battle crowds, wait in line, or worry about fighting someone for that hot gift. When you shop on Ebates, you know you are getting the best deal possible without the hassle of traveling from store-to-store or fearing an item will be out of stock. Plus, you get cash back.”
About Ebates®
Over 1,200 online stores have joined the roster of retailers that offer cash back, special deals including free shipping, and over 5000 coupons to members of Ebates.com. The free membership allows consumers to shop online at their favorite retailers while earning a percentage of every purchase they make; paid quarterly in the form of a "Big Fat Check" or through PayPal. From niceties to necessities, members of Ebates benefit from incentives at top-name merchants for everything from furniture to fashion and appliances to airfare. Because shopping with Ebates is hassle-free: no rebate forms to fill out and no points or miles to redeem, the site supports a strong community of savvy shoppers across the country and around the world. To learn more visit www.ebates.com.
Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive via its QuickQuery omnibus product on behalf of Ebates from October 28 to November 1, 2011, among 2,429 adults ages 18 and older. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. Where appropriate, this data were also weighted to reflect the composition of the adult online population. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact Deanna Siste at deanna.siste@graylingcp.com.
All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words “margin of error” as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.