NEW YORK, Nov. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- The holiday season is upon us. As
consumers make their holiday shopping lists, stores are preparing for the
retail frenzy that's about to begin. As part of its preparations, Bath &
Body Works studied consumer purchasing habits and trends by polling
consumers around the country, including their store associates, to give the
company a unique edge into the psyche of today's consumer.
    Bath & Body Works commissioned Harris Interactive to conduct an online
Omnibus survey of 1,851 U.S. adults ages 18 and older. Here's what was
found:
    -- Over Half of holiday shoppers begin their shopping between Thanksgiving
       and mid-December
    -- 42% can be considered "early starters" as they start shopping before
       Thanksgiving
    -- 7 out of 10 holiday gift purchases occur in-store, while less than 22%
       are purchased online
    -- 68% of holiday shoppers admitted to returning or re-gifting a gift (66%
       of men admitted to this, while 67% of women did)
    To study in-store shopping patterns, Bath & Body Works conducted an
internal survey of its Store Associates at locations across the country and
discovered that:
    -- 29% of all Store Associates have seen customers fight over the last
       item left
    -- 54% of Store Associates have witnessed customers come in to "do their
       makeup" and "put on fragrance" right before attending a holiday party
    -- The majority (81%) of Store Associates said that consumers become
       crazier about their shopping on Black Friday rather than Christmas Eve
    -- 78% of Store Associates said that shoppers line up outside before the
       store is open during the holiday season
    The Store Associates poll also uncovered some unusual and strange
requests made by consumers during the holiday season. Store Associates
reported that:
    -- Men ask for advice in buying presents for their wives and mistresses
       (many men have actually bought the same present for both women)
    -- Many consumers ask if they can take home the store's holiday
       decorations
    -- Customers ask store associates to baby-sit their children as they shop
    By exploring the ways consumers shop during the busiest retail season
of the year from two different perspectives, these surveys offer unique
insight into one of the most important barometers of the American economy.
For additional statistics and anecdotes from both consumers and Bath & Body
Works store employees, please contact Melissa Palmieri or Heather Kleinert
at Tractenberg & Co., 212.929.7979.

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