Holiday HQ

Holiday shoppers are expected to spend an average of $155.43 on gift cards, the highest amount since 2007 and up from $145.61 last year. This holiday season, total spending on gift cards will reach $27.8 billion.

According to a preliminary Black Friday shopping survey, conducted for the National Retail Federation by BIGresearch, up to 152 million people plan to shop Black Friday weekend (Friday, Saturday and Sunday), higher than the 138 million people who planned to do so last year.

According to NRF’s 2011 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions survey, conducted by BIGresearch, early Black Friday sales and special holiday offers have piqued many Americans’ interest as over half of Americans (51.4%) have started their holiday shopping, up from 48.9 percent last year.

According to NRF’s annual Return Fraud Survey, completed by loss prevention executives at 103 retail companies, the retail industry will lose an estimated $3.48 billion to return fraud this holiday season, down from $3.73 billion last year. Annual return fraud will cost retailers an estimated $14.37 billion in 2011, up slightly from $13.66 billion in 2010.

According to Shop.org’s eHoliday survey conducted by BIGresearch, nearly seven in10 (68.0%) retailers say they expect their company’s online sales to grow at least 15 percent or more compared to last holiday season, up from the 63.8 percent who had those expectations last year.

According to the National Retail Federation’s 2011 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch, holiday shoppers say they plan to shell out an average of $704.18 on holiday gifts and seasonal merchandise, down slightly from last year’s $718.98.* NRF is still forecasting overall holiday retail sales to grow 2.8 percent during the months of November and December to $465.6 billion.

The 2011 holiday season can be summed up in one word: average. On the heels of a holiday season that outperformed most analysts’ expectations, holiday retail sales* for 2011 are expected to increase 2.8 percent to $465.6 billion, according to the National Retail Federation.

• 60 percent of holiday shoppers said they provide gift receipts with gifts most or some of the time
• Nearly nine out of 10 (88.4%) Americans find retailers' return policies to be fair
• Two-thirds of consumers say they did not return one single gift last holiday season

• Black Friday weekend, including Thanksgiving Day, drew 212 million shoppers
• Holiday shoppers spent an average of $365.34 on gifts and other discounted merchandise, up from an average of $343.31 last year.
• Nearly 10 percent of holiday shoppers say they began their shopping at midnight, triple the percent of those who shopped at that time last year.

• 106.9 million Americans plan to shop on Cyber Monday, up from 96.5 million who planned to shop last year.
• Seven million shoppers say they will use their mobile device to shop for gifts or research products and promotions, up from the estimated four million last year.
• Most people will shop in the early morning on Cyber Monday, with others will log on in the early or late evening.

• 88.2 percent of retailers will have special promotions on Cyber Monday this year, up from 72.2 percent who did last year.
• 70.1 million people plan to shop online during their lunch hour at work at some point this holiday season.
• CyberMonday.com will feature Deal of the Hour specials on Black Friday and Cyber Monday from more than 700 participating retailers.

• Traditional favorites such as Barbie and video games will top children's list, but newcomers like Iron Man, Fisher-Price Toys and Toy Story characters also joined the top 10 lists this year.
• Dora the Explorer jumped a few spots to number three on the girls' list, Xbox 360 made the top 10 for boys this year, after falling off last year. Zhu Zhu Pets made their return as a favorite for girls as well.

• 138 million people are expected to hit the stores on Black Friday weekend, up from 134 million who said they planned to shop last year.
• Select retailers will offer Deal of the Hour online Black Friday specials on CyberMonday,com, including Sears, Kmart and Drugstore.com, View the release for the full list of participating retailers .

• Consumers are expected to spend an estimated $145 on gift cards this holiday season, up from $139 last year.
• 77.3 percent of shoppers will buy at least one gift card.
• Most people (39.2%) will give their friends and family members a gift card to a department store.

• Four out of 10 (43.0%) holiday shoppers will use their debit card to purchase holiday gifts and 27.6 percent will use cash.
• More than half of Americans who will celebrate the holidays say they have not begun their holiday shopping yet.
• 20.3 percent of gift givers will buy jewelry as a gift this year, up from 18.4 percent last year.

• More than 700 retailers selling over 20 million products are now a part of Shop.org's CyberMonday.com
• Website features new "favorite deals" section and a "top 10 hottest products" section

Fine-tuning return policies has become both a science and an art as retailers continue to grapple with roller-coaster return fraud rates.

With three weeks until Black Friday, NRF releases a guide to effective crowd control management. The guidelines outline essential components of a crowd control and/or emergency plan.