Poll: 'Tis the season for late shoppers

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- Millions of holiday gift-buying procrastinators haven't even begun to check their lists once, let alone twice, a survey indicates.

The National Retail Foundation's survey found 47 percent of shoppers have completed their holiday buying by the second week of December, a drop from last year's 53 percent, CNNMoney.com reported Tuesday.

Only 8 percent of respondents said they've finished their shopping -- while more than 41 million people indicated they haven't even started. The Washington organization's survey reported the likely procrastinators were men and people in the 35-to-44 age bracket. Each group reported 21 percent haven't started.

A likely reason could be five less shopping days this holiday season, said National Retail Foundation President Tracy Mullin in a statement.

The shortened season means "that the holidays have snuck up on many of us," Mullin said. "Retailers will try to manage the rush of last-minute shoppers with expanded hours, extra employees to stock shelves, and a lot of sales and promotions."

When they do go shopping, 66 percent of consumers are paying with debit cards, checks or old-fashioned cash, the survey indicated.

The survey conducted by research firm BIGresearch polled 8,860 consumers and has a margin of error of 1 percentage point.