ALMOST a quarter of younger Australians are heading online to buy their gifts this year.
A poll of 1000 people reveals 23 per cent of those aged 18-24 will research and purchase their gifts this year online only, while only about 16 per cent expected to look and buy in-store only.
Their parents and grandparents were less trusting of online-only shopping, according to the research from the Australian National Retailers Association (ANRA).
Only six per cent of those aged 55-64 and fewer than 10 per cent of those aged 65 or older were planning to look and buy gifts only online.
ANRA chief executive Margy Osmond said people of all ages were likely to combine going online and offline in the hunt for presents.
"We know 47 per cent of Australians will use a combination of in-store and online researching and purchasing options, and local retailers offer an omni-channel platform to meet those preferences," she said in a statement.
The data showed age did not always match willingness to traipse through bricks-and-mortar shops.
But one trend carried straight through: the younger respondents were, the less likely they were to do their Christmas shopping early.
Three-quarters of those aged 65 or older had started getting it out of the way by late November, whereas 51 per cent of those aged 18-24 hadn't started a few days out.
