Sep 14, 2009

Moms Holiday Shopping Plans PreviewedBy Reuters.com

Chicago — All eyes are on moms this holiday season to see how much they will buy and what will it mean for the U.S. economic recovery. The Marketing to Moms Coalition, a nonprofit industry group, surveyed 1,225 moms with children under 18 living at home and found that most moms plan to spend the same amount this year compared to last year, though moms are likely to spend more money if their kids are older.

“The good news is that spending looks like it will at least be consistent, if not a tiny bit better this holiday compared to last year,” said Maria Bailey, founding member of Marketing to Moms Coalition. “The big trends we see from moms are around toys, clothing and books as hot gifts for all age groups, while bigger ticket items like computers and cell phones will likely decrease compared to last year’s holiday season.”

Overall, moms will spend $672 on holiday gifts this year, consistent with last year’s spending levels. The hot gifts for young children are toys (51%), clothing (29%), books (26%), movies (23%) and video games (8%). Top gift choices for children aged 7 to 12 are video games (30%), toys (29%), books/clothing (tied at 28%), movies (25%) and music (20%). Popular gifts for teens are music/music electronics (28%), clothing (27%), gift cards (23%), beauty products/video games (21%), and movies (19%). Compared to the total sample of moms, moms of teens plan to spend the most on holiday gifts.

Big ticket electronic products like computers and cell phones will likely see a decrease in holiday sales this year. Of moms who plan to buy a gift for 7-12 year olds, 15% fewer will buy computers this year, while 5% fewer moms plan to buy computers for teenagers.

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