Consumers are conveying mixed messages about the role gift cards will play this holiday season as the struggling economy continues affect their shopping plans, new research from New York-based management-consulting firm Auriemma Consulting Group suggests.
Overall, consumers plan to spend an average of $454 on gifts this year, or 33% less than the $679 they spent last year. Half of respondents made changes to their holiday budgets because of the recession, while 79% said they plan to spend “somewhat” or “substantially” less than last year.
Auriemma surveyed 420 credit card users online in August for its research.
Gift cards remain a popular choice, and Auriemma expects consumers to purchase them for half of their gifts, though that is down from 54% in 2009. Auriemma also expects the average total dollar amount spent on gift cards this year to be $163, down 24.9% from $217 last year.
The 53% of respondents who expect to spend less than $500 this holiday season are the least-likely segment of the gift-buying population to purchase gift cards, according to the report. Some 47% of those respondents plan to buy a gift card.
Consumers who lack an overall holiday shopping budget or shopping plan are least likely to purchase gift cards, according to the report. Some 36% of those consumers plan to purchase gift cards compared with 44% who did in 2009.
Respondents plan to purchase gift cards with an average denomination of $34 per card, down 33% from $51 in 2009, according to the report. Some 53% of respondents prefer merchant-branded gift cards compared with 28% who prefer network-branded cards, but 52% of respondents who plan to spend more than $50 per card will purchase network-branded cards.
Auriemma’s survey also asked respondents which payment methods they would use to purchase holiday gifts. Consumers plan to use a credit to purchase 38% of their holiday purchases, up from 35% in 2009. Some 24% of respondents plan to use credit cards to earn rewards compared with 26% last year.
Debit card use increased to 31% of purchases compared with 25% last year, the report says.
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