A new survey by Visa shows that 73% of consumers still haven’t finished shopping for Christmas gifts. These last-minute shoppers will spend an average of $304 in the final days leading up to Christmas. Based on 1,007 telephone interviews conducted nationally between December 14-16, the survey finds that 16% of consumers have yet to purchase a single gift and plan to do all of their shopping at the last-minute. At this point in 2011, with one final Saturday left before Christmas, 77% of consumers have yet to finish their shopping, planning to spend $278, while the number of professional procrastinators who hadn’t even started shopping stood at 13%. the survey found regional, income and gender disparities among those who still had some Christmas shopping to complete:
69% of Southerners still have gifts to buy and will spend $329.
69% of Midwesterners still have gifts to buy and will spend $239.
78% of Northeasterners still have gifts to buy and will spend $271.
79% of Westerners still have gifts to buy and will spend $352.
74% of women nationally still have gifts to buy and will spend $218.
72% of men nationally still have gifts to buy and will spend $399.
71% of people with household income under $20,000 still have gifts to buy and will spend $170.
74% of people with household income between $20,000 and $49,999 still have gifts to buy and will spend $208.
78% of people with household incomes over $50,000 still have gifts to buy and will spend $401.