While the number of Internet purchases are up this holiday season, overall spending is down. According to the Quicken Holiday Survey, Americans are expected to spend an average of $950.00, down from last year's $1,003.* Those Americans that plan to shop on the Internet will spend an average of $316 online - approximately one-third of their holiday budget."

"We've been conducting the Quicken Holiday Survey for three years and this year there's a huge boom in online shopping," said Tony Cook, Managing Editor of Quicken.com. "Americans are ready to shop online. Online sites are offering a wide variety of products and services and consumers want to save time, shop at their own convenience, and find online bargains."

Americans are more budget conscious this holiday season. While the majority (56%) of Americans didn't set a holiday budget this holiday season, the number has decreased from last year's 60%.* Additionally, the Quicken Holiday Survey finds that women are spending less money than men are this holiday season. Women expect to spend $825.00 in comparison to men who expect to spend $1,092.00 on their holiday purchases.

E Stands for Easy
What's driving the American population to do their holiday shopping on the Internet? The Quicken Holiday Survey findings show the top three reasons consumers are looking to the Internet to buy their holiday gifts include, "easy to use" (40%), "saves time" (31%) and "a good place to find a bargain" (18%). Additionally, stores are getting too crowded, especially for women. Survey findings show that 18% of women are not willing to brave the crowded stores this holiday season and will do their holiday shopping on the Internet. Men don't seem to be as crowd-shy. Only 8% of men mention crowded malls as a reason for shopping on the Internet.

Money Saving Tips for the Holiday Season
Following are some tips for consumers from Quicken to help them get a handle on holiday spending:

• Get organized. Set a realistic budget and stick to it. Personal finance software, like Quicken Deluxe 2000, can help you easily plan your finances in advance, and help you stay organized. For example, Quicken can help you create a holiday budget, and show you how much you have spent on items such as gifts, dining and entertainment.
• Plan your shopping in advance. Know what you want to buy, and for whom, before you leave for the mall. Avoid shopping for the sake of shopping, and resist any impulse purchases. Don't shop when you're tired, hungry, or feel pressured.
• Never borrow more than you can reasonably pay off. Giving gifts should be a gesture, not a sacrifice. Leave yourself some borrowing capacity for emergencies.
• Reduce your credit card interest rate. If you must carry a balance on your credit cards, Quicken.com can help you find credit cards with lower interest rates. Check out the Banking and Borrowing department at http://www.quicken.com/banking_and_credit/.
• Comparison-shop online. You can find lower prices on the Internet. Quicken.com's Shopping Channel helps consumers determine which products to buy and which ones to avoid and lets you comparison shop. The Quicken Shopper is a free downloadable tool available through the Quicken.com Shopping Channel. Consumers can use the Quicken Shopper to find price comparisons by installing the tool and then clicking the Quicken Shopper icon while browsing for a product on any Web site - anywhere online.
• Get more for your money, online. The Web can be a great place to find a special item without spending time on the road or in the parking lot. One great place to start is the Shopping Channel on Quicken.com. There, you can take advantage of pooled, large volume purchasing power (powered by Accompany) and purchase many items at cost or in a low-cost auction (powered by Onsale). Also, the Shopping Channel on Quicken.com lists some of the top choices for holiday travel bargains and special offers.

Quicken Holiday Survey Fact Sheet
Bruskin Goldring Research conducted the Quicken Holiday Survey in October 1999. Findings are based on telephone interviews with a random cross-section of 1,011 adult Americans, ages 18 & older.

Survey Findings…

Americans expect to spend an average of $950.00 this holiday season.
	Sex
	Men:	$1,092.00
	Women:	$825.00
	Age
	18-24:	$857.00
	25-34:	$1,008.00
	34-49:	$1,008.00
	50-64:	$963.00
	65+:	$787.00
Americans with Internet access anticipate spending $315 on Internet shopping alone.
	Sex
	Men:	$337.00
	Women:	$290.00
	Age
	18-24:	$254.00
	25-34:	$356.00
	34-49:	$299.00
	50-64:	$346.00
	65+:	$164.00
54% of Americans plan on spending the same on holiday gifts as last year.
	Estimated Amount of Spending
	The Same as Last Year:	54%
	Less Than Last Year:	25%
	More Than Last Year:	24%
77% of consumers expect to spend the most of their holiday budget on clothing.
	Expected Holiday Gifts
	Clothing:	77%
	Food:	67%
	Children's Toys:	60%
	Entertainment:	52%
	Jewelry:	35%
	Furniture/Home Decorations:	31%
	Computers/Software:	28%
	TV/Electronics:	28%
	Travel:	25%
26% of Americans plan to use the Internet to research gifts and stores, look for bargains and buy gifts.
	Plan to Use The Internet
	Research Gifts:	17%
	Buy Gifts:	14%
	Look for Sales and Bargains:	14%
	Research Stores:	11%
21% of Americans don't plan to shop on the Internet because they prefer to see products in person.
	Don't plan to use the Internet
	Prefer to see products in	21%
	person:
	Do not have computers:	45%
	Security/Privacy issues:	11%
56% of Americans do not set a holiday budget.
	Set a Holiday Budget
	Set no Budget:	56%
	Set a budget and meet it:	23%
	Set a budget and exceed it:	14%
	Set a budget and spend less:	6%
58% of American feel some sort of stress during the holiday season
	Stress Felt during the Holiday Season
	A little	25%
	Some	20%
	A great deal	12%
	Sex
	Women:	37%
	Men:	28%