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A new study from Acxiom focuses on those who wait to make their holiday purchases. According to the study, entitled "Generate More Jingle This Holiday Season," two out of 10 consumers don't start their holiday shopping until December, providing additional opportunities for retailers looking to drive incremental lift during the upcoming holiday season.

Using 2009 as an indicator, last-minute shoppers planned to spend an average of $384 on gifts ($288 of that on gifts for family), and 38 percent also planned to take advantage of sales or price discounts to spend an average of another $171 each on non-gift purchases for themselves or for family, the report states.

The study divides shoppers into three segments:

• Prepared shoppers - Those who start their shopping as early as September.
• Power shoppers - Those who intentionally avoid the busy shopping season immediately after Thanksgiving and start in early December.
• Panic shoppers - Those who procrastinate until mid- to late-December and find themselves up against the clock to make their purchases.

As the stereotype suggests, men tend to be more power and panic shoppers. The memories of my Dad's Christmas Eve "disappearance" with everyone's Christmas list confirms that. But the study found a diverse group of power and panic shoppers. The study recommends that retailers try to identify Power and Panic Shoppers, who can be recognized and reached based upon their shopping behavior and media consumption preferences.

Marketers can then reach and engage each segment with increased certainty through the ability to specifically target and prioritize high-value consumers and then narrowcast personalized messages to these individuals, the study says. Recommendations include:

• Reconsider last-minute markdowns - e.g. they may not be necessary on certain items in an electronics store because of the greater presence of a somewhat less price-sensitive, self-motivated male shopper.

• Retailers may be able to reconfigure in-store tactics such as promotional displays and endcaps in order to leverage the combination of shopper type and gender.

• Enable emerging media tactics where messaging can be tailored to align with unique customer life stage considerations of different segments within Power and Panic shoppers, delivering campaigns quickly on a one-to-one basis for a minimal investment.
  

With retail as with any industry, knowing your customer can help the company and customer in the long-run by creating efficient and effective strategies that are relevant, useful, and drive revenue.

Good luck with your holiday shopping, no matter when you make your purchases.