Last-Minute Christmas Shopping a Habit for Many, Survey Shows

FENTON, Mo. — If you’re one of those Santas who puts at least some of your Christmas shopping off until the last minute, you’re not alone.

A recent national survey found that 72% of respondents make some of their Christmas gift purchases at the last minute, according to Maritz Marketing Research Inc., which conducted the poll.

Overall, only 8% of those surveyed do all of their shopping at the last minute. The survey found that men are more likely than women to shop in the final hours before Christmas, with one woman in four saying she never shops at the last minute.

The apparent greater female tendency toward organization also shows when it comes to lists, according to the poll. Of those polled, 30% of the women said they always use a list for Christmas shopping, while only 18% of men do so.

When the poll was taken in early November, 28% said they didn’t know how much they planned to spend for Christmas gifts, 13% said they would spend less than $100, 14% said they would spend between $500 and $1,000, and 3.3% said they would spend more than $1,000.