Holiday retail sales stall as some charities see big jump in donations online

SEATTLE, WA (12 December 2011) — In the wake of record Black Friday shopping numbers, retail sales for the first week of December appear to be stalled as holiday shoppers went online to donate to charities. World Vision, the Christian relief and development organization, saw online donations to its popular Gift Catalog jump ten percent compared to this time last year. In 2010, the Gift Catalog raised more than $32 million in total. This year’s goal is $34 million.

ShopperTrack confirms that says sales increased just 0.2% year-over-year for the week ended Dec. 3, representing a 22.5% decline from the prior week, which held the largest Black Friday in history — both in terms of sales and traffic.

According to a recent survey commissioned by World Vision, about 7 in 10 (71%) Americans report that they’ll spend less on holiday presents this year because of the current economic climate. But last-minute holiday shoppers want those dollars to mean more, because about half (51%) say they’re now more likely to give a charitable gift (like those found in World Vision’s Gift Catalog) as a holiday present this year.

This is the fourth year World Vision has conducted a holiday gift giving study with Harris Interactive. This number has remained nearly the same three out of the last four years (51% in 2011, 51% in 2010, 38% in 2009 and 49% in 2008).

And 4 in 5 adults (80%) say they’d prefer to receive a “meaningful gift” that would help someone else instead of a traditional holiday gift like clothing or electronics. This number is identical to 2010 (80%).

This poll was conducted by telephone within the United States and Canada by Harris Interactive on behalf of World Vision, Inc. between October 26 and October 30, 2011 among 1,007 U.S. adults ages 18+ and between October 27 and October 31, 2011 among 1,021 Canadian adults 18+ (for complete methodology contact John Yeager).

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About World Vision:
World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. We serve the world's poor — regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender. For more information on their efforts, visit WorldVision.org/press or follow them on Twitter at @WorldVisionNews