Despite the additional time to shop between Thanksgiving and Christmas Day in 2018 — 32 days this year, to be exact — greater than 50 percent of shoppers wait until the last month; and approximately 40 percent of them wait until the final week, or worse: they do not even finish shopping at all.
Greater Than 50 Percent of Americans Are Last Minute Holiday Shoppers 2018 — and Other Interesting Statistics
Those statistics are according to holiday research from a new study released earlier today from Hilton Honors, which details top consumer trends and which cities in the United States have the most consumers who procrastinate, regift and thrift during the most wonderful time of the year.
Other interesting shopping trends in 2018 include the following:
Procrastination Nation
Consumers in the following cities admit they put off shopping until the week or even the day before the holiday:
- Cleveland
- Orlando
- Raleigh
- New York
- Providence
- Columbus
- Los Angeles
- Las Vegas
- Atlanta
- Phoenix
Planner Cities
Holiday shoppers in the following cities are prepared for the holidays, saying they stock up on gifts year-round:
- Kansas City
- Raleigh
- Oklahoma City
- Austin
- Salt Lake City
- Saint Louis
- San Jose
- Miami
- Las Vegas
- Philadelphia
Thriftiest Cities
Consumers in the following cities say they wait for holiday deals with purchase decisions based on price:
- Memphis
- Oklahoma City
- Cincinnati
- Raleigh
- Sacramento
- Kansas City
- San Jose
- Orlando
- Charlotte
- Atlanta
Experience-Giving Cities
Consumers in the following cities are the most likely to gift friends and family unique experiences — as opposed to items — this holiday season:
- Providence
- San Antonio
- Saint Louis
- Albuquerque
- San Francisco
- Sacramento
- Columbus
- Salt Lake City
- Las Vegas
- Boston
How Cities Sized Up
Teaming up with Sperling’s BestPlaces, the research also paints a picture of how cities across United States are measuring up amidst all the merriment:
- Cleveland is the least prepared with their holiday shopping.
- Kansas City — the city in Kansas, not the one in Missouri — is the most prepared with their holiday shopping.
- Memphis is the thriftiest city when it comes to holiday shopping.
- Providence is more interested in gifting experiences than items.
- Jacksonville admits to regifting the most.
Top Holiday Trends
The survey also uncovered additional holiday shopping trends — including which cities tend to regift, and which are the most thrifty:
- In a New York (Last) Minute — Shoppers in New York are nearly 50 percent more likely to wait until the day before Christmas to finish holiday shopping — as compared with the national average — according to the survey.
- Recycle, Reuse, Regift — Greater than half of respondents around the United States admit to the practice of regifting.
- Puzzled over Presents — “Not Sure What to Get” indexed high with procrastinators and regifters nationwide.
- Bah Humbug — Chicago and Detroit were both ten percent more likely to say they hate holiday shopping, as compared with the national average. Tampa was just one percentage point behind those cities.
Hilton Honors Can Help With Gift Ideas — Even at the Last Minute
Despite the clock ticking away towards the end of another holiday season, Hilton Honors has options for every type of shopper to experience an effortless shopping experience for more memorable gifts. Visit Hilton Honors for more information for even more gifting ideas — or to book reservations for your next stay. Members who book reservations with Hilton get the best room rate — plus perks which come only when booking directly through an official channel of Hilton.
If you are not already a member of the Hilton Honors frequent guest loyalty program, you can join now free of charge in order to take advantage of the following options.
As a member of the Hilton Honors frequent guest loyalty program, the following options — along with links to articles which I wrote — are available to you:
- Through Amazon Shop With Points, you can use your points to shop for just about anything on Amazon.com.
- You can earn Points when using one of the four co-branded Hilton Honors American Express cards — along with additional information:
- Get VIP access to A-list concerts, premier culinary events and world-renowned sporting events through Hilton Honors Experiences — such as access behind the scenes at the 61st GRAMMY Awards.
- A Points Pooling option allows up to eleven members to combine and redeem points.
- Donate your Hilton Honors points to worthy causes with the Hilton Honors Giving Back Program. For every 10,000 points you donate, Hilton Honors will send a contribution of $25.00 in United States dollars to your choice of 30 different charitable organizations — including:
- American Cancer Society®
- American Indian College Fund
- American Red Cross
- Arthritis Foundation
- Arbor Day Foundation
- Books for Kids Foundation
- City of Hope
- Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
- DonorsChoose.org
- GlobalGiving
- Global Soap Project
- GRAMMY Foundation®
- Habitat for Humanity
- Hispanic Scholarship Fund
- International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children
- International Federation of Red cross and Red Crescent Societies
- Kids Help Phone
- Lance Armstrong Foundation
- Make-A-Wish Foundation®
- National Coalition for the Homeless
- The National Multiple Sclerosis Society®
- The Nature Conservancy
- Operation Homefront
- Operation Hug-A-Hero®
- Room to Read
- Special Olympics
- St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®
- U. S. Olympic & Paralympic Teams
- World Vision
- World Wildlife Fund
Summary
I do not live in Chicago, Detroit or Tampa; but I can tell you that I absolutely despise just about any type of shopping — whether or not that shopping is for the holidays.
Do you agree with the aforementioned statistics for the 2018 holiday season — and do you find that you fit in to any of the categories?
Photograph ©2017 by Brian Cohen.
