Seven in Ten U.S. Adults Hit or Exceeded Their Holiday Shopping Budgets; Just a Quarter Spent Less than Expected

New York, NY - Seven in ten U.S. consumers (69%) spent as much or more than the budgeted during the holiday shopping season, according to a new Ipsos telephone poll conducted on behalf of RetailMeNot.com. While nearly half (47%) spent about as much as they had planned, 22% say that they exceeded their holiday shopping budgets between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day.

• Those most likely to say that they went over-budget on holiday shopping include adults under 35 (29%) and those with a high school diploma or less (28%).

Just a quarter of adults surveyed (25%) report that they spent less than they had budgeted during the holiday shopping season. Adults with a household income of $25,000 or less (33%) and residents of the West (31%) are most likely to have come in under-budget.

When shopping for others, gift cards tend to reflect well on the shopper. When it comes to receiving a gift card vs. an actual product or service - regardless of the value, three quarters of adults (74%) feel that gift cards make the gift giver seem thoughtful, as they like getting money and the control of getting what they want to buy. Just 19% feel that gift cards make the shopper seem lazy, finding it lame that the gift giver couldn't put more time and consideration in purchasing a present they would like.

• Women (81%) and residents of the Midwest (81%) are particularly likely to see gift cards as a thoughtful present.

Few (8%) say that they have secretly returned a holiday gift from your spouse, partner, or significant other without his/her knowledge. Rather, 92% say that they have not done so.

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted January 5-9, 2012. For the survey, a nationally representative sample of 1,001 randomly-selected adults aged 18 and over residing in the U.S. was interviewed by telephone via Ipsos' U.S. Telephone Express omnibus. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate within 1773.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire population of adults in the U.S. been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/gender composition reflects that of the actual U.S. population according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

For more information please contact: Rebecca Sizelove Senior Research Manager Ipsos Public Affairs New York, NY 212-584-9253 [email protected]

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Ipsos is a leading global survey-based market research company, owned and managed by research professionals that helps interpret, simulate, and anticipate the needs and responses of consumers, customers, and citizens around the world. Member companies assess market potential and interpret market trends to develop and test emergent or existing products or services, and build brands. They also test advertising and study audience responses to various media, and measure public opinion around the globe.

They help clients create long-term relationships with their customers, stakeholders or other constituencies. Ipsos member companies offer expertise in advertising, customer loyalty, marketing, media, and public affairs research, as well as forecasting, modeling, and consulting and offers a full line of custom, syndicated, omnibus, panel, and online research products and services, guided by industry experts and bolstered by advanced analytics and methodologies. The company was founded in 1975 and has been publicly traded since 1999. In 2010, Ipsos generated global revenues of e1.140 billion ($1.6 billion U.S.).

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