Survey Finds One-Third of Respondents Have Begun Holiday Planning

EL SEGUNDO, CA--(Marketwired - Jul 12, 2016) - Swagbucks, the web's leading rewards program that's already awarded its members more than $130 million in gift card rewards, today released the findings from its 2016 Holiday Planning Survey. Swagbucks, in partnership with sister site My Gift Cards Plus, found that one-third of respondents have already started to plan for the 2016 holiday season. Another 18% report they began saving for the holidays in June and another 21% plan to start saving at the beginning of Fall.

While gifts for parents (66%), significant others (60%) and children (55%) top most members' shopping lists, other major holiday purchase concerns include food, decorations, travel, holiday wardrobe and parties.

"The holidays may be six months away, but savvy shoppers are already preparing. In fact, many of our members already have a savings plan that includes cash-back shopping apps and sites to help them compare prices and make their money go farther," said Sarah Aibel, VP of Marketing at Swagbucks.

Additional key findings from the survey include:

Christmas in July. It's Real.

• One-third (34%) of respondents have already begun their holiday planning
• Meanwhile, 21% typically begin saving for the holidays at the start of Fall
  • 19% said they don't save at all
  • 18% start saving in June
  • 15% started saving in the beginning of the year (January)

Seasons Savings

• When asked how they plan to save for the holidays this year, 40% said they will put themselves on a strict budget
  • 24% will use cash-back sites
  • 20% will use more coupons
  • 10% have or will open a holiday savings account
• 33% expect to spend between $250 and $500 this holiday season
  • 26% between $500 and $1,000
  • 20% between $100 and $250
• When asked how they spent last year, over half (56%) said they remained within their holiday budget
  • 35% said they went over budget
  • 9% said they spent less than budgeted

The High Costs of the Holidays

• When budgeting for the holidays, the most obvious costs are presents
  • But 46% are also budgeting for food
  • 26% for decorations
  • 26% for travel
  • 25% for special occasion clothing

Shopping Satisfaction 

• 58% of respondents said they enjoy holiday shopping
  • 19% said they dislike holiday shopping
  • 22% were neutral

The 2016 Holiday Survey was conducted in May 2016 among Swagbucks members using an email invitation and online survey. The survey had a total of 26,412 responses from across the United States.

The full survey can be found HERE.

ABOUT SWAGBUCKS
Swagbucks is the web's leading rewards program, rewarding its 19+ million members with free gift cards for their everyday activities and purchases online. Members use Swagbucks.com's website and mobile apps to search, shop, watch videos, take surveys and more, earning points that are redeemable for gift cards to major retailers including Amazon and Walmart. To date, Swagbucks has awarded more than $130 million in gift cards to its members and counting. Swagbucks also empowers hundreds of retail partners like Amazon, Walmart, Target and many more, as well as premium content providers like AOL and Hulu, to reach its active, engaged members. Headquartered in El Segundo, CA, Swagbucks is a subsidiary of Prodege, LLC, and partner site to MyGiftCardsPlus. For more information, please visit www.swagbucks.com.