How Many Are Done with Their Holiday Shopping?

December 17, 2009 · 69 comments

Whether you believe tomorrow is the Online Holiday Shopping Deadline or today is the last free shipping day for online shopping, if you don’t want to pay hefty expedited shipping charges today is a great day to finish up your shopping.

Any business that counts on holiday sales would love to know how many are already done and whether they might still hope for more buyers. Here’s your chance to brag about being done already or tell us Bah, Humbug or let others suggest great deals you can still get. Just click one circle and you’re done.

Here’s to all the small family businesses and their extended family of employees and contractors who are working diligently to get all those last minute gifts shipped in time for Christmas.

Have you found the perfect gift and want to share what it is? Know of any great last minute deals? Need some gift ideas? We would love to know so leave a comment. Our commentator community will welcome you.

HOLIDAY SHOPPING POLLS:

Consumer Reports Holiday Poll: Are you a Planner or a Procrastinator (Dec 17, 2009)
PR NewsWire: Consumer Reports Poll: 40% of Adult Shoppers Have Yet to Begin Holiday Shopping (Dec 17, 2009)

The Perfect Gift May be the Most Practical One (bucks.blogs.nytimes.com)
Free Shipping Day is December 17th This Year (shoppingblog.com)
7 Ways to Help Unemployed Friends and Family (bucks.blogs.nytimes.com)
3 Things You Need to Know about Free Shipping Day 2009 (blippitt.com)

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Spot who writes about tech blog Twitter: SpotCoolStuff December 23, 2009 at 1:04 pm Twitter: @SpotCoolStuff

Maybe it is a sign that I’m getting more responsible (“It’s about time,” my friends would say) but this is the first year I’ve ever finished my holiday shopping before Dec 20th.
.-= Spot@tech blog´s last blog ..Reviews of the Best Travel Cameras =-.

GrowMap Twitter: GrowMap December 25, 2009 at 4:14 pm Twitter: @GrowMap: Congratulations Spot. Maybe you’re just getting more organized or better financed? Or maybe you remember earlier that you don’t like crowds?
.-= GrowMap´s last blog ..FTC Disclosure Rules: What You Need to Do =-.

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Sire Twitter: LottoMan01 December 23, 2009 at 1:05 am Twitter: @LottoMan01

I don’t do any shopping, I delegate it to the wife. I figure seeing as how women like shopping so much it’s the right thing to do.
.-= Sire´s last blog ..Has Your Blog Content Been Stolen? =-.

GrowMap Twitter: GrowMap December 25, 2009 at 4:13 pm Twitter: @GrowMap

Hi Sire,

I’m still trying to figure out if you’re as big a MCP as you like to come off or you’re just yanking our chains. Not all women are into shopping. I’m not – except for books.
.-= GrowMap´s last blog ..Thankful MEME: Who Murray Newlands Thanks =-.

Sire Twitter: LottoMan01 December 25, 2009 at 4:21 pm Twitter: @LottoMan01: MCP? Oh, a Male Chauvinist Pig!!! LOL

Nah I just love to throw out the line and real women in with it. It get’s me into all sorts of trouble sometimes, but I love having a bit of fun all the freaking time
.-= Sire´s last blog ..Merry Christmas To All =-.

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JR who writes about Internet Marketing Twitter: imstrategies December 22, 2009 at 7:55 pm Twitter: @imstrategies

HA HA, this year I got done early and thank god for that! Now I’m broke again
.-= JR @ Internet Marketing´s last blog ..Search Hot Keywords with Comprehensive Info with Free Toolbar =-.

GrowMap Twitter: GrowMap December 25, 2009 at 4:12 pm Twitter: @GrowMap: Hi JR,

Congratulations on getting done early. With your popularity online and all the ways we’re finding to increase income I’m sure you won’t stay broke long. I’ve got to make time to check out that Cash Keywords toolbar you wrote about.

I think I mentioned that your links are not going directly to your blog so feedburner is getting the benefit instead of you; however, as many times as FireFox has locked up on me today I could have lost that comment.

There is a setting in your feedburner account to change that. If it isn’t obvious we can compare settings and figure it out again.
.-= GrowMap´s last blog ..MEME: Share What Makes You Feel Thankful =-.

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Dennis Edell Twitter: DennisEdell December 22, 2009 at 5:54 pm Twitter: @DennisEdell

I remember a couple years in a row, making my dad take me to Tower Records after dinner on Christmas eve.

I was not his favorite son those years…
.-= Dennis Edell´s last blog ..The $10 Winner And More Good News….. =-.

GrowMap Twitter: GrowMap December 25, 2009 at 4:08 pm Twitter: @GrowMap: Why that day?
.-= GrowMap´s last blog ..MEME: Share What Makes You Feel Thankful =-.

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sparsh who writes about Web Development Company Twitter: sparshtech December 21, 2009 at 11:55 pm Twitter: @sparshtech

yet I haven’t done any Xmas shopping! I have not got time to do that. I hope i will do it before Christmas. Have a great holiday.

Sell Your Mobile Phone for Cash Twitter: SellYourMobile December 21, 2009 at 10:12 pm Twitter: @SellYourMobile

Interesting I was in the 9% that said they were 3/4 done. I guess it depends on your style of Christmas shopping. Whether you are a last minute person or not. And I guess it depends on the type of person you and who you have to get Christmas presents for etc. I’m glad I don’t have to get stuck in all them traffic jams and queues lol

Mkcoy
.-= Sell Your Mobile Phone for Cash´s last blog ..Envirofone Get Cashback Recycling Mobiles =-.

Buenos Aires real estate December 21, 2009 at 3:20 pm

Going shopping is greatbut if there’s something even better is to do it with friends.
.-= Buenos Aires real estate´s last blog ..Punta del Este – Seaside Luxury Property =-.

monika who writes about food delivery melbourne December 21, 2009 at 6:18 am

i am the one who left with my holiday shopping.but soon i will go for it.

tommy who writes about business guide December 21, 2009 at 6:09 am

i almost done with my holiday shopping, i bought some santa cloth, watch, toys and for my kids. just spend few hundreds bucks for this Christmas.
.-= tommy@business guide´s last blog ..If You Can’t Pay the Taxes You Owe =-.

GrowMap Twitter: GrowMap December 25, 2009 at 4:08 pm Twitter: @GrowMap: Santa cloth?
.-= GrowMap´s last blog ..MEME: LinkLuv to My Fav Bloggers Favs =-.

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Brian D. Hawkins who writes about Internet Advertising Twitter: ExtremeEzine December 21, 2009 at 5:28 am Twitter: @ExtremeEzine

I think we are finished with all the Christmas shopping this year. Michigan is in big trouble economically and my wife has tried her best to single handedly bring Michigan out of the recession. It’s her bailout strategy for the State distributed by daily shopping trips and online purchases.

Oops, my stupid auto-complete inserted my email where my website goes.

GrowMap Twitter: GrowMap December 25, 2009 at 11:26 am Twitter: @GrowMap: Oh my Brian. I hope income is strong this year to pay for her bailout plan.

I was able to fix your link and add anchor text for you in the admin edit function. I know you don’t usually use anchor text and want to encourage you to start. It can make a real difference in your traffic if done wisely.

Check out the post I’ll featured in this reply for more details on that and watch for a new post on KeywordLuv and how best to use it.
.-= GrowMap´s last blog ..Are You Playing Hide and Seek With Your Market? =-.

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Steven Richardson Twitter: indblog December 20, 2009 at 4:00 pm Twitter: @indblog

I am feeling very smug because I finished my Christmas shopping at the beginning of November.
.-= Steven Richardson´s last blog ..Be Careful Of Unsolicited Link Requests Through Email =-.

GrowMap Twitter: GrowMap December 25, 2009 at 11:20 am Twitter: @GrowMap: Hi Steven,

You can be our role model this year as one of the few organized enough and affluent enough to shop early. Congratulations.
.-= GrowMap´s last blog ..MEME: Share What Makes You Feel Thankful =-.

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Ryan December 20, 2009 at 8:16 am

Oh, I’m completely useless and haven’t even done any Xmas shopping as yet! Will no doubt be leaving everything till the last minute lol. Have a great holiday.

GrowMap Twitter: GrowMap December 25, 2009 at 11:05 am Twitter: @GrowMap: Hi Ryan,

I hope you got done just in time. Maybe next year you’ll shop early online. Do check out @ExecGifts Gift Affiliate Program if you offer affiliate products in your blog. We assist affiliates in getting more traffic and can provide custom lists of the most popular products throughout the year including Groomsman Gifts.

Demographic studies indicate that the wedding niche is expected to really take off in the next two years and stay strong for twenty more.
.-= GrowMap´s last blog ..FTC Disclosure Rules: What You Need to Do =-.

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GrowMap Twitter: GrowMap December 25, 2009 at 11:09 am Twitter: @GrowMap: Hi Ryan,

I hope you got done before Christmas Day!

I noticed your blog offers affiliate products in the UK. Be sure to check out the Gift Affiliate Program @ExecGifts offers. They ship to the UK.

.-= GrowMap´s last blog ..How to Use TipTop for Real Time Market Research =-.

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Dennis Edell Twitter: DennisEdell December 19, 2009 at 8:21 pm Twitter: @DennisEdell

Oh crap. I should do some shopping, huh.
.-= Dennis Edell´s last blog ..UPDATED – Pick My New Domain Names With A chance To Win $10! =-.

GrowMap Twitter: GrowMap December 25, 2009 at 11:00 am Twitter: @GrowMap: LOL You, Brian and Extreme John are so entertaining to have as commentators.
.-= GrowMap´s last blog ..Are You Playing Hide and Seek With Your Market? =-.

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Tanmay who writes about rowing clothing Twitter: tanmay2346 December 19, 2009 at 5:22 pm Twitter: @tanmay2346

Thanks for such an informative post. I really enjoyed reading it.I always love looking at your blog.

GrowMap Twitter: GrowMap December 25, 2009 at 11:07 am Twitter: @GrowMap: Thank you Tanmay. I hope you learn a lot from our posts. Have you checked out Best of GrowMap yet?
.-= GrowMap´s last blog ..Are You Playing Hide and Seek With Your Market? =-.

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Prim who writes about 123bargains Twitter: 123bargains December 19, 2009 at 1:59 pm Twitter: @123bargains

I am about 1/2 way done. I tried to finish before December 18 as most of the places have shipping deadline on that date. There are still a lot of great deals for those who are still looking for them and some of them still offer free or cheap shipping with guaranteed delivery on certain items.
.-= Prim @ 123bargains´s last blog ..Gift baskets at Walmart.com – $ 17.00 at (Walmart) =-.

GrowMap Twitter: GrowMap December 25, 2009 at 10:59 am Twitter: @GrowMap: I hope everyone realizes that the deadlines are to allow time for shipping and not because the merchants are trying to be difficult. While some ecommerce stores are willing to cover the additional cost for expedited shipping to generate additional sales during the holidays, it is very expensive and seriously cuts into their profitability.

While challenging it really is best for all to shop early – and support small online and brick and mortar businesses everywhere. Every dollar you spend in a superstore could be a dollar that saved a local or online small business!
.-= GrowMap´s last blog ..MEME: Share What Makes You Feel Thankful =-.

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Extreme John Twitter: extremejohn December 19, 2009 at 12:57 pm Twitter: @extremejohn

I voted and am one of 17% that has not even stepped foot into a store yet.
.-= Extreme John´s last blog ..Weekly Link Dump #3 =-.

GrowMap Twitter: GrowMap December 25, 2009 at 10:55 am Twitter: @GrowMap: LOL. With the Internet we don’t really need to set foot anywhere. Why not shop online? Save the hassles, avoid the traffic and cost of travel, and stay away from the crowds.
.-= GrowMap´s last blog ..How to Use TipTop for Real Time Market Research =-.

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Matt who writes about Sacramento Weddings December 19, 2009 at 12:13 pm

We already bought each other our Xmas presents….my present (to her), was to paint the entire home interior (4 different colors) before Thanksgiving. Her gift (to me) was that she “let” me buy 1080p 37″ Toshiba LCD flat screen for the bedroom, and a Panasonic Blu-Ray/DVD player for the media room. Why wait until Xmas to unwrap the presents? LOL (I’ll still probably get her something nice at one of the after-xmas blowout sales, at 80% off retail…for our 20th anniversary on 1-13-10).

GrowMap Twitter: GrowMap December 20, 2009 at 2:39 pm Twitter: @GrowMap: Hi Matt,

I love your Christmas gifts and wish I had so much more time to have written posts about gift ideas including the kind you and your wife decided on. I saw Blu-Ray in a store once and it did seem much clearer and brighter than standard DVDs.

If you are planning any other home improvements make sure you check out Good Millwork. They sell over 10,000 styles of architectural moldings in 200+ wood profiles (and other materials).

crown moldings are one of their top sellers because they are considered a great way to upgrade a room and enhance home value. I just saw another post on How to Spruce Up Property So It Sells at Lightening Speed recommending adding crown molding to the entryway to improve first impressions.

Good Millwork is having a huge half price sale on Exterior Shutters too. That could make a great family “gift”.
.-= GrowMap´s last blog ..MEME: LinkLuv to My Fav Bloggers Favs =-.

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Royalty Free Twitter: mark_tait34yahoo.in December 19, 2009 at 12:31 am Twitter: @mark_tait34yahoo.in

This is a place for great inspiration, your blog is really interesting
.-= Royalty Free´s last blog ..Great Christmas Presents for Photography loving Guys =-.

GrowMap Twitter: GrowMap December 20, 2009 at 2:28 pm Twitter: @GrowMap: Thank you. I hope you do more than get inspired and implement strategies you learn here. I have a couple of tips for you to make your commenting time more beneficial:

1) On the Internet, names including usernames, URLs and Twitter IDs can not have spaces in them so be sure you don’t put spaces in those fields. Your Twitter link is broken because your real Twitter ID is RoyaltyFree without the space.

2) You will get maximum benefit from KeywordLuv by matching the keywords you’re using to the site you send visitors. Use a different name and anchor text for your Royalty Free Music site than you use for your Photography site.

I would also suggest you use Royalty Free Music instead of Royalty Free because the first is self-explanatory and the second could refer to many other things. Anchor text is really important. Read more about that in the post I’ve featured in CommentLuv for this comment.
.-= GrowMap´s last blog ..Are You Playing Hide and Seek With Your Market? =-.

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mens skinny jeans December 17, 2009 at 10:13 pm

yeah Im almost done with my holiday shopping. Prob finish up Online tomorrow so I can get the gifts mailed off. Theres something about doing things like shopping at the last minute. More exciting…
.-= mens skinny jeans´s last undefined ..If you register your site for free at =-.

GrowMap Twitter: GrowMap December 17, 2009 at 11:00 pm Twitter: @GrowMap: Good for you. Those who finish their shopping by today or tomorrow at the latest will get the best deals with the least stress.
.-= GrowMap´s last blog ..Are You Playing Hide and Seek With Your Market? =-.

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Dwippy who writes about Dofollow Blog List December 17, 2009 at 5:58 pm

I’m no where near being done. Planning to go out on Monday EARLY to one of the 24 hour stores to get it done.

Last year I did it on Xmas eve really bad idea that I would not recommend to anyone.
.-= Dwippy@Dofollow Blog List´s last blog ..Blog Comments =-.

GrowMap Twitter: GrowMap December 17, 2009 at 10:58 pm Twitter: @GrowMap

LOL great advice to avoid shopping on Christmas Eve. My philosophy is to support small businesses. These 24 hour superstores are handy but they remind me of the company stores in coal mining towns. The more money people spend in them the less options we will all have.

When I lived in a very small town I shopped at the local grocery store even though I worked in the city thirty miles away. Many questioned that choice and my reply was if we don’t support our local businesses they will close and then they would have no choice but to drive that thirty miles for a loaf of bread or a gallon of milk.

Few heeded my recommendations and that wonderful store closed. One owner did keep it open longer by putting in a lunch buffet which was a great idea. Whenever I went there to eat I thought, “I may as well buy a few groceries while I’m here” and whenever I needed groceries I thought “I may as well have lunch first”.

Every decision we make changes the world. Few think about how their actions have created the current economic downturn. If we all supported our neighborhood and small online businesses we would create a more healthy economy.
.-= GrowMap´s last blog ..MEME: LinkLuv to My Fav Bloggers Favs =-.

Dwippy who writes about Dofollow Blog List December 18, 2009 at 3:49 am

I don’t think there is a small grocery near where I live. We’ve got a walmart, a meijer (mi, oh, in mainly) and a scotts which was bought by kroger and there’s a kroger across the street from the scotts. LOL

I could probably find something downtown but I’m not going to do that because of my misdirectional tendencies…

Although to be honest to avoid the christmas mob I’d throw my preferences to the wind in a heartbeat.
.-= Dwippy@Dofollow Blog List´s last blog ..U Comment I Follow =-.

GrowMap Twitter: GrowMap December 20, 2009 at 2:23 pm Twitter: @GrowMap: Hi Dwippy,

Every purchase we make throughout the year makes a difference in what kind of world we live in, who can keep a roof over their head and who goes out of business. My regular readers know I strongly support small businesses.
.-= GrowMap´s last blog ..Better Live Chat Equals More Closed Sales =-.

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