"Although gas prices may have some impact on holiday sales, shoppers are still planning to spend slightly more than last year," says Garry Butcher, vice president of marketing and consumer research for the Macerich Co.
The study predicts that shopping malls will be the most popular seasonal shopping destination, with nearly 64% of the 3,700 consumers surveyed planning to shop at mall department stores or specialty shop retailers. And despite higher gas prices, the study reveals that 42% of American shoppers will travel at least 50 miles from home during the 2005 holiday season.
In response to the date consumers plan to begin their holiday shopping, 77% of shoppers said they would being holiday shopping before the end of November, while 28% will begin on "Black Friday," Nov. 25. Of those who will begin on Friday, 61% of the consumers will be women, and 48% will be aged 25 to 44 years old. The study also revealed that men are more likely than women to wait until the last minute, representing 63% of the shoppers who start on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24.
"When asked about the economic outlook for the new year, two-thirds or 45% of American shoppers expect the economy to hold its own, and 22% expect it to move ahead," Butcher says. "Consumers are staying positive going into the holiday season and 2006."
Shopping in America is a national shopper intercept survey that studies consumer-shopping trends on a quarterly basis. The Holiday 2005 survey was conducted among 3,780 shoppers in 12 regional shopping centers geographically spread throughout the United States. Respondents ranged in age from 12 to 75 years old.
Based in Santa Monica, the Macerich Co. is a real estate investment trust, which focuses on the acquisition, leasing, management, development and redevelopment of regional malls throughout the United States. The company is the sole general partner and owns an 82% ownership interest in the Macerich Partnership, LP. Macerich owns approximately 79 million sf of gross leasable area consisting primarily of interests in 75 regional malls.
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