When it comes to the battle of the sexes, Christmas shopping shines the spotlight on the different tactics of men and women for winning on the festive battlefield.
ANRA CEO Margy Osmond said of the 1000 Aussie men and women asked about their approach and attitude towards Christmas shopping, the two delivered very different results.
New data from the Australian National Retailers Association (ANRA) shows that men will shop closer to the Christmas deadline.
“It could just be a matter of convenience but more than one third of men said they will be doing most of their shopping in department stores this year.
The data also revealed males are two and a half times more likely than women to do their shopping in the final days before Christmas.
“Sixty per cent of men admitted to doing most of their shopping in December and of those, more than half said they shop between December 14 and Christmas Eve.
“When it comes to the fairer sex, over three quarters of women told us they will do most of their Christmas shopping before December 14 with one third of women saying they would be filling Santa’s stocking with gifts from stores such as Target and Big W.
“The results showed women take a much more structured approach to Christmas shopping with one in five shopping for gifts throughout the year – compared to just 13 per cent of men.
“Women are slightly more likely to shop online with 17 per cent indicating the computer, iPad or smartphone will be a big part of their Christmas shop compared to men at 13 per cent. The Christmas buzz instore is still a big attraction with the bulk of shopping still done in a ‘bricks and mortar’ store.
“When asked about their Christmas wish list, two in five women said they’d like to receive a gift voucher with clothing and perfume, jewellery and beauty products also high on the list. When it came to men, one in three said they’re hoping electronics or entertainment equipment will be under the Christmas tree,” said Osmond.
Aussie consumers are expected to spend more than $29.6 billion this festive season up 5.4 per cent from $28 billion in 2012.
“Last minute shopping or not, we are now in a much stronger position heading into Christmas in comparison to 2011 and 2012 and if the sector continues to deliver positive results, our forecast of 4 per cent year on year growth looks a lot more achievable – a marked improvement on the past two Christmases.”
| When are you expecting to do most of your Christmas shopping? | ||
| Men | Women | |
| Throughout the year |
13.1% |
21.8% |
| Four to six weeks ahead of Christmas |
19.6% |
22.1% |
| Two to four weeks ahead of Christmas |
26.5% |
31.4% |
| One to two weeks ahead of Christmas |
18.8% |
17% |
| Two to six days ahead of Christmas |
15.1% |
5.9% |
| Christmas Eve |
1.8% |
0.4% |
| I’m waiting for the Boxing Day sales |
5.1% |
1.4% |
| What type of store will you complete most of your Christmas shopping? | ||
| Men | Women | |
| Department store |
34.3% |
26.3% |
| General merchandise |
24.1% |
34% |
| Online store |
13.5% |
16.9% |
| Specialty chain |
8.8% |
7.1% |
| Small/ independent retailer |
5.9% |
7 .6% |
Men
| What do you want for Christmas? | |
| Electronics/ entertainment equip | 33% |
| Gift voucher | 29% |
| Clothing | 24% |
| Food & wine | 17% |
| CDs, DVDs, music downloads | 16.5% |
Women
| What do you want for Christmas? | |
| Gift voucher | 40% |
| Clothing | 28% |
| Perfume/ Cosmetics/ Beauty | 27% |
| Books | 25% |
| Jewellery | 25% |
