Free Investment Advice

According to a new holiday shopping survey by iLive, more than one-third (37 percent) of shoppers plan to shop smarter during their quests for the perfect gifts this holiday season.

Whether they are bargain hunting online, looking for special sales or cutting coupons, shoppers are more focused on getting the most for their money. For nearly half (48 percent) of U.S. consumers between that ages of 18-34, that means planning to spend less this holiday season altogether.

The survey revealed that a significantly higher number of women (44 percent) than men (32 percent) plan to shop smarter this holiday season, and twice as many men than women do not plan on purchasing any gifts at all this year (15 percent versus 7 percent respectively). Even of those who do plan to spend more money this year than last, half (50 percent) still plan to shop smarter.

“In this volatile economy, we found that regardless of budget, consumers are looking for ways to make smarter purchases this holiday season,” said Bill Fetter, CEO for DPI, Inc., maker of iLive. “For many, that will mean buying accessories and add-ons to compliment items that their loved ones already own.”

As more shoppers search for smarter buys, the survey shows that brand names will take a back seat to price when it comes to buying gifts. In fact, when asked to rank price, design, quality and brand in order of importance when buying electronics accessories as gifts, quality and price took the cake, with 80 percent and 79 percent of shoppers respectively ranking those factors as being extremely or very important. The brand name was listed as least important.

SOURCE DPI, Inc.