77 Percent of Americans Say Economy Has Caused Them to Focus on More Important Things than Gifts This Year, According to a New Survey on Holiday Spending Attitudes

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Americans are looking beyond gift giving to spread holiday cheer with friends and family as they adjust to the ‘new normal’ created by the recession, according to a holiday spending attitudes study by Strayer University based on polling by Ipsos Public Affairs.

“As parents adjust to the new economic reality, it is natural for them to struggle with feelings of stress and anxiety during holiday shopping”

Seventy-seven percent of those polled agree that the current economic conditions give them a chance to focus on what is truly important, while 68 percent, or two of every three surveyed, say that they are purchasing fewer holiday gifts for friends and family as one way to adjust to the new economic conditions, the poll showed. Women are more likely than men (80 percent vs. 73 percent) to say that the current economic conditions have given them a chance to focus on what is really important. While strikingly, 73 percent of parents polled report they will buy fewer gifts this year as a way to adjust to the new economic conditions. Many parents – 62 percent of those polled – still say that shopping during the holiday season causes them to feel stress.

“The American consumer has recalibrated to accept a new normal,” said Dr. Lisa Kincaid, a Strayer University professor of psychology and expert on consumer behavior. “People are adjusting their behavior, including focusing on their own ‘personal economy,’ taking stock of what’s important, such as spending time with family, volunteering, and living within their means. This different outlook offers benefits to their psychological well-being, including happier and less stressful lives in the short- and long-term.”

“As parents adjust to the new economic reality, it is natural for them to struggle with feelings of stress and anxiety during holiday shopping,” Kincaid added. “Having a conversation with children early during the holiday period can help properly set expectations for the season.”

The frugality trend also held true for households lower on the income scale: 73 percent of households with an income less than $75,000 agreed that today’s economic conditions have caused them to adjust by purchasing fewer holiday gifts, the poll showed.

Less than half of those surveyed worry about being able to give gifts, a state-of-mind likely precipitated by lowered expectations of gift giving. Only 38 percent of those polled said that family and friends expect to receive as many gifts as before the recession.

“For many years individuals entered the holiday season bearing a heavy load of expectations from their children, friends and family regarding gift giving,” Kincaid said. “As the American public endures a prolonged economic downturn, many of us have paused to contemplate what truly matters in life and as a result things like family activities, meals with friends and other social activities are beginning to rank higher than store-bought gifts.”

Childless households and those in higher income brackets worry less about gift giving this year, but they have nonetheless acclimated to the new economic reality. Sixty-five percent of Americans without children surveyed say they’ve adjusted to new economic conditions by purchasing fewer gifts (compared to 73 percent of parents), while only 59 percent of those with a household income above $75,000 have done the same (compared to 73 percent of those with a lower household income).

“High unemployment has caused many people across the economic spectrum to change their behavior as it relates to career development, household budgeting and retirement planning,” Kincaid said. “As a result, the savings rate has inched higher, ‘staycations’ have become increasingly popular and Americans are focusing on what makes them happy at home.”

To view additional information from the survey, visit {: http://www.ipsos-na.com/news-polls/pressrelease.aspx?id=5062}.

About Strayer University

Strayer University is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and has been in operation since 1892. The University offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in business administration, accounting, information technology, human resource management, education, health services administration, public administration and criminal justice. With approximately 56,000 students, Strayer University operates 87 campuses in 20 states and Washington, D.C., as well as worldwide via the Internet. For more information, visit www.strayer.edu or call 1-888-4-STRAYER (888-478-7293).

About the Survey

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos Public Affairs poll conducted November 18-21, 2010. For the survey, a nationally representative sample of 1,000 randomly-selected adults aged 18 and over residing in the U.S. was interviewed via Ipsos’ U.S. Telephone Express omnibus. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate within ±3.1 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 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. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error. To learn more, visit: www.ipsos-pa.com.