Men Claim They Plan to Leave Christmas Shopping to the Last Minute, Ciao Survey Shows

Research from consumer review and comparison shopping website, Ciao (www.ciao.co.uk) shows that a third of men claim they plan to leave their Christmas shopping until the week before Christmas and that more women than men say they will research and buy their Christmas shopping online.

London, (PRWEB) December 13, 2004 -- This Christmas, as the race to gain share of the Christmas pound among retailers has resulted in a large number of pre-Christmas sales and promotions, research from consumer review and comparison shopping website, Ciao (www.ciao.co.uk) shows that a third of men claim they plan to leave their Christmas shopping until the week before Christmas.

Ciaos survey of 1,000 UK adults shows that 33% of men are planning to do their Christmas shopping the week before Christmas, compared to only 8% of women. In fact, seven times as many men (15%) as women (2%) say they are planning to do their Christmas shopping in the last couple of days.

When planning to do Christmas shopping?
%                                       Men        Women
Last couple of days                         15        2
One week in advance                    18        6
Two weeks in advance                    23        16
Three weeks or more in advance         45        77
Source: Ciao.co.uk

'Our research confirms that those Christmas Eve shoppers really are men, says Ciaos co-CEO Max Cartellieri. 'With so many men saying they are planning to leave their Christmas shopping to the last minute, its no wonder men have the reputation of being disorganized about Christmas.

Ciaos survey shows that while women dream of receiving weekends away, spa breaks and perfume from their partners, they predict they are much more likely to actually be given books, DVDs and CDs.

Women are also more likely than men to say they intend to buy, and to research their Christmas shopping online.

% UK internet users            Women        Men
Intend to buy online                87        85
Intend to research online        84        83
Source: Ciao.co.uk

'Women are perhaps going to be more important for online retailers this Christmas than they ever have been before, says Max Cartellieri. 'Online shopping is going to increasingly challenge and complement the High Street as more consumers are prepared to research and buy an increasing range of products online.

Notes to editors
Ciao AG is a global media services company with two business units; Comparison Shopping and Online Surveys. The company operates high traffic consumer websites in Europes five key markets and offers worldwide access to millions of market research respondents, from which online surveys are carried out for the market research, media and consumer goods industries.

Ciaos Comparison Shopping portals are available Europe-wide in 5 languages under www.ciao.com. The portals comprise 4 million consumer reviews concerning products and services of all types as well as comprehensive price comparison information. Ciaos websites receive 16 million visits and 80 million page impressions per month, making Ciao the fourth largest e-commerce website in Europe and offering online shops and advertisers a highly effective marketing environment.

Ciao AG was founded in 1999 and currently employs 150 professionals in 7 locations in Europe and North America.

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