American Pulse™ Survey: Over Half of Holiday Shoppers
           Say They Are Staying on Budget This Holiday Season

              Overwhelming Majority Say Today’s Youth are Spoiled by the Gifts They Receive

COLUMBUS, OH – 12/20/2007 – Holiday shoppers are sticking to their financial plans this season as over half (53.8%) report they are staying on budget, according to the latest American Pulse™ Survey of 4,356 respondents. Almost a quarter (24.4%) admits to over spending this holiday while 21.7% say they are staying under budget.

When it comes to kids and their Christmas lists, the majority (75.4%) say children are spoiled by the Holiday gifts they receive. The percentage who feel this way increases among Women (80.3%), Adults 35 – 54 years old (78.2%) and Adults 55+ (79.4%). Even though most say children are spoiled by gifts, 83% of Americans think they should be allowed to celebrate the Holidays in school.

Other key findings regarding the Holiday season:

• The Spirit of Christmas is alive and well as almost half (48.7%) plan to head to religious services this Holiday season.
• Only 9.4% of Holiday shoppers have ever “camped out” in front of a store in order to buy a gift.
• 43.3% think it is more “green” to have an artificial tree… 29.9% say they don’t care and the “green movement” doesn’t affect their Christmas traditions.
• “Xmas” doesn’t bother 57.6%, but over a third (36.8%) prefers to see “Christ” in Christmas.
• 61.2% are bothered when they give a gift but don’t receive a thank you.

To view a complete report or to submit a question for future surveys: http://americanpulse.bigresearch.com.

American Pulse™ Survey is collected online by BIGresearch every month exclusively utilizing Survey Sampling International’s (SSI) U.S. panel covering topics such as politics, religion, pop culture and the economy.

About BIGresearch
BIGresearch is a consumer intelligence firm providing insights of consumer behavior in areas of products and services, retail, financial services, automotive, and media. In addition to the American Pulse Survey, BIGresearch conducts the Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey (CIA) and the Simultaneous Media Survey (SIMM). More information is available at http://www.bigresearch.com.

About Survey Sampling International (SSI)
Survey Sampling International is the premier global provider of sampling solutions. Founded in 1977, SSI offers access to consumer and business-to-business respondents via Internet, telephone, mobile and other means; survey programming and hosting; and sampling consultation. SSI is the supplier of choice for more than 1,800 companies, including 46 of the top 50 marketing research agencies. Headquartered in Fairfield, CT, SSI maintains offices throughout North America, Europe and Asia. http://www.surveysampling.com

Contacts:

BIGresearch                                                     SSI
Chrissy Wissinger                                              Harold Kelley
chrissy@bigresearch.com                                  harry_kelley@surveysampling.com
614.846.0146                                                     +1.203.255.4200