The Christmas shopping window is quickly closing, with only a couple of weeks until the big day. And while some shoppers got a head start on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, many Americans aren't exactly rushing to the stores to finish shopping. A new study reveals the state closest to the North Pole is the most likely to shop for gifts last minute.
CasinoGuardian polled 2,000 Americans and compiled search volume data from Google Trends to identify which US states are most organized when shopping for Christmas gifts.
Last Frontier Residents Are The Last to Shop
A recent study revealed Alaska is the state least organized and most likely to wait until the last minute to shop for Christmas gifts.
Each state received a ‘last-minute score' determined by survey responses and search volume results. Alaska topped the list scoring 6.8 out of 10.
Despite Alaska being the closest state to the North Pole and literally having a town named North Pole, it still finds many people waiting until the week before Christmas to shop.
Alaskan Searches
Holiday-themed search terms analyzed in Google Trends were ‘gifts for her', ‘gifts for him, ‘next day delivery,' and ‘secret Santa.' The study focused on searches made the last week before Christmas of 2021. Alaska scored 10/10 and had the highest search volume around key shopping terms.
Searches of the term ‘gifts for her' spiking in the last few days before Christmas suggesta many Alaskans have difficulty finding gifts for the women in their lives.
Perhaps Alaska is so remote that people have difficulty shopping in person. Its struggling retail sector may also be a factor.
Last Minute Neighbors
Still, Arkansas, the home state of Walmart, takes second place on the list with a last-minute score of 6.5/10, debunking the “remote Alaska” theory.
Northern neighbors Montana and Wyoming also rank high on the list of last minute shopping states, each scoring 6.3/10.
The Most Organized
North Dakota claims the title of most organized with a last-minute score of only 0.5/10. A measly 1% of respondents who reported shopping last-minute are North Dakotans. This also explains why North Dakota had zero searches of the holiday search terms in the week before Christmas.
New Mexico is the second highest-organized state for Christmas shopping, scoring just 0.8. While Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Delaware round out the top five most organized states, each scoring 1.3.
Revealing Searches
The Google Trends search data reveals Americans search the term ‘next day delivery' the most during the months of November and December, with December 23rd having the highest number of searches.
Regardless of where they rank in the data pool, shoppers from all parts of the US head to Google to search ‘secret Santa' in the last week before Christmas, likely seeking gifts for friends and co-workers.
Other related searches that peak in the month of December are ‘stocking stuffers for him', which may suggest women are the late shoppers. Also, ‘gifts under $50' is popular for people seeking budget-friendly gift ideas.
There's no denying that Christmas is a lot of work. Yet what would be more revealing would be to understand what motivates some shoppers to finish their holiday preparations way in advance and others to spend Christmas Eve at the mall.
In many cases, the differences are likely due to consumer psychology. Yet, it would be interesting to learn how other factors, such as budget restrictions or overspending, may impact holiday spending and shopping habits.
Shopping Trends
Speaking on the results, a spokesperson at CasinoGuardian commented: “Every year, people will find themselves vowing to start their gift shopping earlier than they did the year before in order to reduce stress and take advantage of limited discounts and deals.
“However – for whatever reason – many still struggle to prioritize buying presents before the last minute. This data shows that if that's you this year, you're not alone – and luckily there are plenty of next day delivery offerings still available for you to benefit from this year.”
Christmas continues to arrive on the same day each year. Yet, due to a lack of time, money, or organization, many still struggle to get ahead of the game when it comes to Christmas shopping.
This article was produced by Cents + Purpose and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.
source https://wealthofgeeks.com/last-minute-christmas-shoppers/
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