Poll Finds Americans Are in No Hurry to Finish Christmas Shopping [POLL]

Procrastination is the hot trend among Americans this holiday season.

According to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll, 17% of Americans have not begun shopping for Christmas a week before the holiday, while less than one-third had wrapped up all their shopping.

So, what exactly is the hold-up? About 45% claim they're waiting because they believe stores will "offer better prices just before the holidays," while 43% think they can buy everything they need at the last minute on the internet. Roughly 50% believe they can wait out doing their Christmas shopping because of fast shipping.

Shipping is a major reason selling point for consumers, too. A total of 31% of people will buy something only if it ships for free, while 32% say companies need to offer same-day shipping.

Businesses looking to rake in big profits during the holiday season may do well to listen to the pleas of their customers when it comes to their last-minute tendencies and cries for free shipping -- nearly half of all respondents said they're just too darned busy to go shopping.