Survey Shows Nearly Half of Americans Are Late Christmas Gift Shoppers

Aren't done with your Christmas shopping yet?

Well, join the crowd.

According to a just-released Harris Poll survey, millions of Americans are waiting until the last minute to complete their holiday shopping.

About half (45 percent) of U.S. adults admitting that at the time of their interview they had yet to finish shopping for the family and friends on their list and more than one in four (28 percent) revealing they wouldn’t be finished until Dec. 22 or later.

The 2014 Holiday Retail Readiness Survey examined habits and preferences of Americans during the holiday shopping season, and was done by Harris Poll on behalf of SOASTA from Dec. 15 to 17 among 2,016 adults ages 18 years old and older.

According to the survey, three out of four Americans say Cyber Monday has turned into Cyber Month, with more than a third (37 percent) finding that retailers have extended promotions and deals. Nearly three in 10 (29 percent) Americans say Cyber Monday now feels like Cyber Month because online shopping is becoming more popular. Also, about one in four (24 percent) say that thanks to smartphones, online shopping occurs everywhere, anytime.

The vast majority of Americans (85 percent) say online and/or mobile shopping has helped them this holiday season.

Among the top reasons:

• Cuts down on the hassle of physical shopping (38 percent)
• Allows comparing prices (34 percent)
• Helps when stores sell out of items they want and/or need to buy as gifts (17 percent)
• Helps with last minute gifts (11 percent)
• Helps more easily search for a gift for themselves when friends and/or family fail (10 percent)
• Helps cut out guesswork with their spouse or significant other (5 percent)
• Helps shop for people they don’t like with websites that offer suggestions (2 percent)