Poll says not many people shopping these holidays

online shopping last place

[adamxcl]

Just saw a CNN poll. Three options were included about holiday shopping. Number aren't too optimistic about online shopping.

First place had people say they weren't shopping at all this year, surprisingly high number at around 40%.

Second place had people shopping in stores.

Third place was shopping online, with about 24%.

[Propools]

Have you got a link to that article? That's an interesting number "24%".

[GaryK]

It's on the front page of CNN.com. Right now it's:

How do you plan to shop for the holidays?

Online 26%
In a store 34%
Not shopping this year 40%

[Propools]

So, 40% aren't shopping. How truthful are those people being or are they just naysayers?
The spread between online vs. brick-n-mortar is only 8 points, not to shabby.
So, according to CNN, online is going to get 43.3% of the "committed" shoppers this year.
To me, that doesn't sound to bad.

I hope everyone has read the book "Who Moved My Cheese" [amazon.com] by Spencer Johnson.
Furher evidence the ecommerce has caused a paradigm shift in how consumer think about shopping.

[GaryK]

Those CNN polls are not scientific. It's not CNN saying anything. It's only a reflection of the people that visit the site and participate in the polls. :)

There was an interesting quote from Best Buy today. Wish I could link to it. Here's a clip from the Bloomberg article:

iPhone fails to save Best Buy's bacon

You can buy an iPhone at Best Buy, but forecasts say you won't buy anything at all this Xmas. The company's revised forecast predicts revenue between now and February may drop by 15 percent. CEO Brad Anderson's official statement is blunt: "Since mid-September, rapid, seismic changes in consumer behavior have created the most difficult climate we've ever seen ... Best Buy simply can't adjust fast enough to maintain our earnings momentum for this year."

[edited by: GaryK at 5:42 pm (utc) on Nov. 12, 2008]

[Propools]

I would guess this would mean STEEP discounts at many retailers, the day after Thanksgiving!?!

[grandpa]

I'm curious, what have these numbers looked like in past years? It's probably safe to assume that with joblessness numbers up, sales will be down. But what kind of percentages has online shopping traditionally brought in?

[jimbeetle]

Hmmm, I dropped in at a Best Buy last week to pick up a case fan. It was a weekday afternoon and the store was packed. The checkout line was very long, about a ten minute wait. I didn't think to look, but maybe it isn't that people aren't buying, but what they're buying. Maybe $10 DVDs for old machines versus new Blu-Ray machines, or some such.

[timster]

The 40% of "not shopping this year" includes all the married guys who surf the internet all evening and leave the shopping to their wives.

[Shaddows]

So what do the wives get then?

Also, on an ONLINE poll, 43% of non-non-shoppers will shop ONLINE

So that will be nice and representative then, no?