Rapunzel Barbie Lets Down Her Hair,
According to Latest NRF Holiday Survey
--Newest Barbie Named NRF's "Hot Toy" for 2002--

Washington, DC, November 19, 2002 - Without a doubt, Barbie will be this year's hottest toy, according to the findings of a new National Retail Federation (NRF) survey. The second installment of the NRF 2002 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch for NRF, also indicates that Play Station items will be hot for boys and that apparel will be the top gift for adults.

More than 8500 consumers were polled on the "hot toy" that they planned to purchase for children. An overwhelming 46.9 percent of consumers buying gifts for girls will be on the lookout for Barbie merchandise, especially Rapunzel Barbie. Other hot toys for girls include Bratz merchandise (6.1%), Dora the Explorer (3.3%), and Leap Frog (3.0%). Boys' results were more varied, with 9.2 percent of gift-givers scouting for Play Station-related items, 8.0 percent searching for Spiderman, and 5.9 percent chasing down Hot Wheels. Other popular toys for boys included Legos (5.6%), Harry Potter (5.4%), and Bob the Builder (5.1%).

In adult gift-giving, apparel leads the pack, with 59.3 percent of consumers planning to purchase clothing or clothing accessories as gifts this season. Books, CDs, and DVDs were a close second at 58.5 percent, followed by gift cards/gift certificates (45.0%) and toys (38.6%).

"It seems that clothing and accessories will do very well this season," said Phil Rist, Vice President of Strategy for BIGresearch. "A pent-up demand for apparel will result in strong sales of winter merchandise-coats, sweaters, scarves and gloves."

Though almost 40.0 percent of consumers began their holiday shopping in October or before, survey results project that most shopping is yet to come. So far, 64.6 percent of consumers have completed less than 10.0 percent of their shopping. Young adults seem to be waiting to shop this season-almost 81.7 percent of adults 18-24 have finished less than 10.0 percent of their holiday shopping. Only 2.7 percent of consumers are finished with their holiday shopping.

"We have been pleased to see retail sales improving in the fourth quarter," said NRF President and CEO Tracy Mullin. "Consumers appear to be out of their shells and ready to shop. This bodes well for our holiday sales forecast and we remain hopeful that this will dispel some of the doom and gloom predictions we have been seeing this year."

Consumers will continue to shop sensibly this year, with 33.2 percent of consumers using cash for gift purchases this season. Other methods included check/debit cards (27.3%), credit cards (26.8%), and personal checks (12.7%).

NRF continues to project an increase of 4.0 percent in holiday sales this year over last year, bringing estimated revenues of $209.3 billion this holiday season. The first installment of the Consumer Intentions and Actions survey revealed that consumers plan to spend almost $650 this year on holiday gifts, decorations, cards, candy, and food-up from $632 last holiday.

About the Survey

The NRF 2002 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey was designed to gauge consumer behavior and shopping trends related to the winter holiday season.  The survey was conducted for NRF by BIGresearch. The poll of 8,569 consumers was conducted from November 7-14.  The consumer poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.0 percent.

BIGresearch is a consumer market intelligence firm.  BIGresearch's syndicated Consumer Intentions and Actions survey monitors the pulse of more than 7,000 consumers each month to empower its clients with unique insights for identifying opportunities in a fragmented and changing marketplace.

The National Retail Federation (NRF) is the world's largest retail trade association with membership that comprises all retail formats and channels of distribution including department, specialty, discount, catalog, Internet and independent stores. NRF members represent an industry that encompasses more than 1.4 million U.S. retail establishments, employs more than 20 million people -- about 1 in 5 American workers -- and registered 2001 sales of $3.5 trillion. NRF's international members operate stores in more than 50 nations. In its role as the retail industry's umbrella group, NRF also represents 32 national and 50 state associations in the U.S. as well as 36 international associations representing retailers abroad.

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