Holiday Shoppers Creatively Conservative, But More Confident

According new research from Information Resources, Inc. consumers will take a more strategic approach to holiday shopping this year and are heading into stores with shopping lists and a budget in mind. They are not expected to give up their focus on conservative spending by creating tremendous credit card balances.

In comparison to last year, the key survey findings include:

• Concern about the price of food has dropped more than 20% this year (98% in 2008 versus 77% in 2009)
• Expressed concern for the effect of gasoline prices on holiday shopping has dropped by 10% compared to 2008
• Utilitiy concerns saw a similar decline, down just over 9% from 2008
• The overall effect of the recession on shopping decisions has decreased nearly 5%
• Job stability concern remains top of mind, with only a 1% decline

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Excerpts from "Research Brief" of MediaPost Publications