Almost one in every six holiday shoppers waits until the last minute to do their gift buying, according to a new survey by location-based promotion service Retale.
The commissioned survey of more than 1,000 U.S. adults found that 15 percent admitted they fell into the wait-till-the-last-minute category, Drug Store News reported.
Of those shoppers, 58 percent said they use smartphones and tablets to help them shop, and 51 percent use their mobile devices to locate stores and check store hours as they get closer to Christmas Day.
“Last-minute shoppers need all the help they can get,” said Retale President Pat Dermody. “They’re turning to smartphones and tablets to help them find stores and check hours while on-the-go. The latter is especially important, since most retailers offer extended hours in the days prior to Christmas.”
For example, Dermody noted, department-store chain Kohl’s will open its doors for 100 hours straight, from 6 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 19, until 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24.