FAU Poll Finds Hispanics Spending Less this Holiday Season and Less Likely to Shop Online

MEDIA CONTACT: Joshua Glaner
561-297-1168, jglanzer@fau.edu

BOCA RATON, FL (November 24, 2014) – A new Florida Atlantic University Business and Economic Polling Initiative survey (FAU BEPI) found that 40 percent of Hispanics will be spending less on their holiday shopping compared to last year compared to 29 percent who said they will be spending more money and 31 percent who said they will spend the same as last year.  

To be more specific, 55 percent of Hispanics with income less than $25,000 reported they will spend less this holiday season compared to last year, while only 13 percent of Hispanics with income over $75,000 said they will spend less than last year.  

“This means Hispanics with more discretionary income will be the driving consumer force this Holiday shopping season,” said Monica Escaleras, director of the FAU BEPI.

The majority of Hispanics, or 71 percent, plans on spending less than $500, while 8 percent plan to spend more than $1,000. Cash is still king for Hispanics as the majority, or 59 percent, indicated they will pay for their gifts in cash and 41 percent will utilize credit or some other form of financing.

Hispanics also said they prefer brick-and-mortar shopping as opposed to online by a 2 to 1 ratio (67 percent to 33 percent). Online shopping will still be utilized by Hispanics with 30 percent saying they will do most or all their shopping online and 16 percent saying they will do half their shopping online. However, 33 percent said they will not shop online.

“Income mobility and age might be driving online shopping with 49 percent of respondents earning over $75,000 saying they plan to do the majority of shopping online, while 45 percent of respondents over 55 said they will do no online shopping,” Escaleras said.

The poll also found that one-quarter of Hispanics have already started their holiday shopping and over half of Hispanics are somewhat/very likely to shop Black Friday and/or Cyber Monday (56 percent and 52 percent respectively).

The polling sample consisted of 500 Hispanics with a margin of error of +/- 4.33 percent, and a 95 percent confidence level. The poll ran from Nov. 1-15.

For more information about this survey and the initiative, visit www.business.fau.edu/bepi, or contact Monica Escaleras at 561-297-1312 or mescaler@fau.edu

-FAU-

About FAU BEPI : 

The Florida Atlantic University Business and Economic Polling Initiative Conducts surveys on business, economic, political and social issues with a focus on Hispanic attitudes and opinions at regional, state and national levels via planned monthly national surveys.  The initiative subscribes to the American Association of Public Opinion Research and is a resource for public and private organizations, academic research and media outlets.  In addition, the initiative is designed to contribute to the educational mission of the University by providing students with valuable opportunities to enhance their educational experience by designing and carry out public opinion research.

About Florida Atlantic University: 

Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University, with an annual economic impact of $6.3 billion, serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students at sites throughout its six-county service region in southeast Florida. FAU’s world-class teaching and research faculty serves students through 10 colleges: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, the College of Business, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, the College of Education, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the Graduate College, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. FAU is ranked as a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University is placing special focus on the rapid development of three signature themes – marine and coastal issues, biotechnology and contemporary societal challenges – which provide opportunities for faculty and students to build upon FAU’s existing strengths in research and scholarship. For more information, visit www.fau.edu.