BELLEVUE, Wash., Nov. 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- As the holiday
season draws near, the secret for American consumers trying to stay
on budget could be hiding in their coin jars, wallets and cup
holders, according to a new holiday shopping survey released today
by Coinstar. The survey revealed that 66 percent of Americans
shopping for holiday gifts go over budget, typically by an average
of $116. Parents fare even worse: 78
percent of respondents with children are especially vulnerable to
busting the budget.
While 74 percent of holiday gift givers cut back on indulgences
like eating out (53 percent) and entertainment (52 percent) to
ensure they can check everyone off their holiday gift list,
Americans likely have more cash available than they think. In fact,
85 percent of survey respondents report that they have spare change
lying around, while 58 percent are holding at least one gift card,
with an average of four, in their possession right now.
"The holidays are meant to be a time of joy and celebration, but
one thing is certain: We can all use a little extra cash this time
of year – for gift giving, holiday meal planning or donating to
charity," said Jim Gaherity,
president of Coinstar. "Fortunately for many consumers, extra money
is hiding all around – whether it is in the form of coins or gift
cards they may never use. Our kiosks give people a way to boost
their holiday budgets by converting coins and gift cards into cash
so they don't have to scale back on other spending."
Find All Your Money
Taking advantage of hidden money
can help bridge the gap between what consumers actually spend and
the money they set aside for holiday shopping. Coinstar can help
consumers maximize their budgets this holiday with two options:
- The big green Coinstar® kiosks make it simple for consumers to
convert coins to cash or no fee eCertificates, and
- New, bright yellow CoinstarTM
Exchange kiosks, now available in select markets, let consumers
instantly exchange unused or partially used gift cards for
cash.
While survey respondents who have spare change lying around
estimate they have just under $21 in
coins, Coinstar's own nationwide kiosk data indicates customers
cash in an average of $58 when they
convert their coins to no fee eCertificates – nearly three times
what survey respondents believed they had.
Get the Most Out of All Your Money:
- Control it with cash. The need to get
holiday spending under control might explain why 50 percent of
holiday gift givers usually pay for most or all of their presents
with cash.
- Coins are money, too. While 85 percent
of Americans report that they have spare change lying around, 86
percent of survey respondents would not feel comfortable buying
holiday gifts with just coins.
- Gift card collectors. More than half
(58 percent) of Americans are holding at least one gift card and
many of these gift cards might be lying around for some time before
they get used. In fact, 48 percent of Americans admit that when
they receive gift cards they wait to use them or never use them at
all.
- Money going to waste. Many people look
for ways to ensure that they can get gifts for everyone on their
list, but only 12 percent sell gift cards to help stretch their
budget. That still leaves a lot of money – more than $1 billion in gift cards goes unredeemed
annually1 – that could be used to
bolster holiday budgets.
To learn more or locate the nearest Coinstar and Coinstar
Exchange kiosks, go to www.coinstar.com/holiday. For
additional survey findings or to request high-resolution images,
b-roll of Coinstar or Coinstar Exchange kiosks or a holiday
infographic, please contact coinstarpr@edelman.com.
*Methodology Note: The Coinstar Holiday Survey was conducted
by Kelton Research between October 1 and
October 7, 2014, and polled 1,062 nationally representative
Americans aged 18 and older.
About Coinstar
Coinstar, an Outerwall Inc. (Nasdaq:
OUTR) brand, owns and operates the only multi-national, fully
automated network of self-service coin-counting kiosks. With 20,220
coin-counting locations in the United
States, Canada,
Puerto Rico, Ireland and the United Kingdom, Coinstar processes more than
$3 billion in coins annually.
Coinstar makes it simple for consumers to convert coins to cash, no
fee eCertificates or to easily donate coins to charity right from
the kiosk with the Coins that Count™ program. Coinstar also
operates Coinstar Exchange, a new network of gift card-exchange
kiosks that let consumers instantly exchange unused or partially
used gift cards for cash. For more information on Coinstar or
Coinstar Exchange, please visit www.coinstar.com and for
information on Outerwall Inc., please visit www.outerwall.com.
Photo -
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20141115/158836-INFO
1 CEB TowerGroup, "Gift Cards State of the Union
2013," Dec. 2, 2013
SOURCE Outerwall Inc.