AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- While it may be an election year often signaling uncertainty when it comes to shopping and spending, a new survey conducted by Kelton Global on behalf of savings destination RetailMeNot reports that 61% of shoppers plan to spend more this holiday season than last. In fact, nearly one in three shoppers plan to spend at least $200 more.

Despite the increase in spending, consumers will be taking advantage of deals and offers by seeking out savings prior to shopping either in-store or online, especially on the bigger ticket items like electronics that are on many wish lists. Seven out of ten consumers look for deals on holiday gifts year round, but 40% still feel they will find the best discounts on Black Friday. 

Should You Wait? Searching for deals year round is certainly a successful strategy, but shoppers should reconsider making all purchases at one time, as category deals ebb and flow between October and December. 

• A holiday traveler looking to plan a winter getaway in advance of the season can find an average discount of 33% off during the month of October.
• Those starting early should be picking up toys, home décor and apparel as research suggests these categories are deeply discounted early in the season
• Electronics and computers hit their peak from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday and then into the first week of December, with an average discount ranging from 38 to 40% off.

It's All in the Research & Planning: Nearly two in three shoppers report feeling financial stress during the holidays. One way to combat that is to begin researching and planning beforehand.

Almost half of shoppers say they will begin holiday planning before November 1st and furthermore we know that one in five will plan to use a deals and savings app during the holiday season. But holiday prep takes many different forms:

• 47% will plan ahead by saving money
• 38% will make early holiday wish lists
• 7% will create Pinterest boards

Other ways to Prepare include prepping for holiday entertaining by losing weight (14%), buying new clothes for holiday parties (21%), learning new recipes (21%) and decorating their homes (53%).

What's Trending? 

• 56% will ask for electronics including gaming consoles like the Nintendo retro console, smartwatches or the new iPhone 7 and these can be found at retailers like Best Buy.
• 51% will ask for new clothes. And 12% want a subscription mail delivery service for clothing or beauty items.
• Top toys include the Nerf Blaster, Power Wheels, Troll Dolls and Pokemon Z RING.

Survey Methodology

The RetailMeNot September 2016 survey was conducted between September 24 and September 29, 2016, among 1,003 nationally representative Americans ages 18 and over, using an e-mail invitation and an online survey. Quotas are set to ensure reliable and accurate representation of the entire U.S. population ages 18 and over. Results of any sample are subject to sampling variation. The magnitude of the variation is measurable and is affected by the number of interviews and the level of the percentages expressing the results. In this particular study, the chances are 95 in 100 that a survey result does not vary, plus or minus, by more than 3.1 percentage points from the result that would be obtained if interviews had been conducted with all persons in the universe represented by the sample. The margin of error for any subgroups will be slightly higher.

About RetailMeNot, Inc.

RetailMeNot (http://www.retailmenot.com/corp/) is a leading digital savings destination connecting consumers with retailers, restaurants and brands, both online and in-store. The company enables consumers across the globe to find hundreds of thousands of digital offers to save money while they shop or dine out. During the 12 months ended June 30, 2016, RetailMeNot, Inc. experienced over 688 million visits to its websites. It also averaged 18.8 million mobile unique visitors per month during the three months ended June 30, 2016. RetailMeNot, Inc. estimates that approximately $4.8 billion in retailer sales were attributable to consumer transactions from paid digital offers in its marketplace in 2015, more than $600 million of which were attributable to its in-store solution. The RetailMeNot, Inc. portfolio of websites and mobile applications includes RetailMeNot.com in the United States; RetailMeNot.ca in Canada; VoucherCodes.co.uk in the United Kingdom; retailmenot.de in Germany; Actiepagina.nl in the Netherlands; ma-reduc.com and Poulpeo.com in France; RetailMeNot.es in Spain, RetailMeNot.it in Italy, RetailMeNot.pl in Poland and GiftCardZen.com and Deals2Buy.com in North America. RetailMeNot, Inc. is listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the ticker symbol "SALE." Investors interested in learning more about the company can visit http://investor.retailmenot.com.

Media contacts:

Katie Hammill
RetailMeNot, Inc.
+1  412 600 4869 mobile
khammill@rmn.com

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SOURCE RetailMeNot, Inc.