The Results Are In... Auntie Anne's® Perfect Day At The Mall Holiday Survey

By: Auntie Anne's | 2 Shares 189 Reads

October 29, 2007 // Franchising.com // Auntie Anne's® Pretzels surveyed consumers on their attitudes toward holiday shopping at the mall, to understand shopping habits, get at what shoppers enjoy most and least about the mall experience and to define what would make a "perfect day at the mall." Following are the key findings:

Shop by Numbers

* Most consumers surveyed - 85 percent - said they will visit the mall at least once during the holiday season
* About one in five said they will visit the mall between six and ten times
* More than a third of consumers will visit the mall at least five times during the holiday season
* Women say they will visit the mall more often then men during the holiday season, with 38 percent of women polled indicating they will visit the mall at least five times, vs. 30 percent of men
* Those who live in the Northeast are more likely than any other region to visit the mall at least five times during the holiday season (37 percent), and shoppers in the Midwest are least likely to take five or more trips to the mall during the holidays (28 percent)
* The group to visit the mall the most? Women 18 - 34, of which nearly half (45 percent) say they will visit the mall at least five times
* Nearly two-thirds of consumers surveyed (63 percent) said their favorite thing about going to the mall during the holiday season is taking advantage of holiday sales
* Women are more likely to be bargain hunters than men - as many as 70 percent of women polled said that taking advantage of holiday sales is one of their favorite aspects of the mall experience during the holiday season, as opposed to only 54 percent of men

Women Deck the Malls

* Mall shoppers list holiday festivities among their favorite aspects of the mall experience, with festive decorations topping the list (43 percent), following by holiday music (34 percent) and extended shopping hours (31 percent
* Women tend to enjoy the holiday festivities at the mall more than men, with more than half of those polled listing the holiday decorations among their favorite aspect of shopping at the mall, as opposed to 29 percent of men
* More women also like the holiday music played at malls (44 percent of women vs. 23 percent of men); in fact, about one in eight men polled said that the holiday music is among the most stressful aspects of the holiday mall experience for them, whereas only one in 20 women felt the same way
* Twice as many women as men said having their child's picture taken with Santa is one of their favorite aspects of the holiday mall experience
* Holiday shoppers in the Northeast also seem to get more into the holiday spirit at the mall than any other region in U.S., while Midwesterners are least affected by the holiday festivities; more than half of those in the Northeast (51 percent) list festive decorations among their favorite aspects of holiday shopping at the mall, as opposed to only 33 percent of Midwesterners
* Northeasterners also enjoy the holiday music played at the mall, with 41 percent of consumers from that region selecting it, as opposed to only 27 percent of those in the Midwest

Stress Factors

* According to nearly three-quarters of consumers surveyed (73 percent), the crowds in the stores are the most stressful aspect of the mall experience during the holiday season
* Driving to and from the mall also ranks high among the stress factors - more than half of respondents (54 percent) say that traffic is among the most stressful part of the mall experience and 47 percent say it's finding a parking spot
* More women than men say that finding a parking spot is among the most stressful part of the holiday mall experience (51 percent of women vs. 42 percent of men)
* Shoppers in the South are more bothered about driving to the mall during the holiday shopping season than in any other region, with more Southerners indicating that traffic and finding a parking spot is among the most stressful part of the holiday mall experience
* Nearly one in five consumers surveyed (19 percent) say that getting over the "financial hangover" is among the most stressful aspects of the mall experience during the holidays
* Men are more stressed than women about procrastinating until the last minute to buy holiday gifts (21 percent of men vs. 17 percent of women)

Perfecting the Holiday Mall Experience

* In terms of what would make a "Perfect Day at the Mall" during the holiday season, extra spending money ranks highest, noted by more than half of consumers surveyed; other top answers included no lines, a prime parking spot, a personal shopper, someone to carry all of the holiday purchases and a chauffeur to drive to and from the mall
* More women than men said that having extra spending money would help make a "perfect day at the mall" for them (58 percent of women vs. 43 percent of men)
* More consumers in the South than in any other region also said that a prime parking spot would make a "perfect day at the mall" for them
* When asked to name the perfect person to shop with during the holiday season, the most popular answer was no one - 30 percent of consumers prefer to shop alone; this was followed by a spouse or significant other (28 percent), a friend (20 percent) and a family member other than a spouse/significant other (19 percent)
* More than twice as many men as women say that a spouse or significant other is the perfect person to shop with (40 percent of men vs. 18 percent of women)
* Women were more likely to rank a family member other than a spouse/significant other (28 percent of women vs. 10 percent of men) or a friend (23 percent of women vs. 18 percent of men) as the perfect shopping partne
* Southern shoppers are more likely than those in any other region to select a spouse or significant other as the perfect person to shop with; those in the Midwest most prefer to shop alone

For more information, and to enter Auntie Anne's "Pretzel Perfect Day at the Mall" sweepstakes (including a complete list of rules), visit www.auntieannes.com.

Survey Methodology
The Perfect Day at the Mall survey was conducted online by Harris Interactive, on behalf of Auntie Anne's, Inc., within the United States between September 21 and September 25, 2007 among 2,199 U.S. adults ages 18+, of whom, 1,875 typically take at least one trip to the mall during the holiday season.

For the purposes of this survey, the United States are contained in four geographic regions as follows:

Northeast: Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia

Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin

South: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia

West: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming

About Auntie Anne's

Auntie Anne's, Inc. is a Pennsylvania-based franchisor that supports over 925 Auntie Anne's Pretzels locations worldwide. The concept mixes, twists and bakes pretzels to golden brown perfection in full view of customers. Auntie Anne's is committed to pretzel perfection by guaranteeing you will love its pretzels or they will replace it with one that you do.