Tales of Holiday Spending
November 28, 2012 Leave a comment
Recently, Kaleidoscope conducted a survey among 50 family and friends to find out a little bit about their holiday habits. Much of the data was what I expected: for present ideas, moms turn to other moms for advice over traditional advertising or online blogs; moms look for educational value in gifts over price and quality; families enjoy more leisure time over the holidays vs. the rest of the year.
But when it came to spending, I was shocked at the results. 75% of moms stick to a budget, and 40% spend less than $150 per child. I have to hand it to our mom friends and family – they manage their holiday spending better than I do! I can’t reconcile how they get away with this budget when nearly 50% of kids ages 6-12 are asking for ipads (Nielsen). Even if kids aren’t getting a high ticket item like an ipad, $150 doesn’t go very far.
So either I am a complete sucker for the holidays or these other moms are in denial about their spending habits. Judging from Black Friday’s billion dollars in sales and pretty hysterical scenes from midnight openings, I’m guessing the latter.
Caroline Adami
Caroline Adami, VP Client Services
