All Over Albany

Poll: Majority still thinks retail stores should not be open on Thanksgiving

The percent of respondents (vertical axis) and how much they said they'd be spending on gifts (horizontal axis).

A bunch of bits from the annual Siena Research Institute holiday poll of New York State residents, out this week:

+ 72 percent of respondents said they were either very (28 percent) or somewhat (44 percent) excited about the holiday season.

+ The graph above details how people responded to a question about how much they plan to spend this year on gifts. Of people ages 35-49, 39 percent said they were in the $1000 or more category, as were 30 percent of people who reported there were kids in their household.

+ How much shopping online this year? 28 percent said at least half or more of their shopping -- and 33 percent said none.

+ 29 percent of people reported that they'd be buying a gift for themselves this year.

+ "Do you think retailers should or should not be open to shoppers on Thanksgiving?"
should: 30 percent | should not 64 percent (it was 38-54 in last year's poll)

+ "Will you be shopping for holiday gifts on Thanksgiving day this year at any of the retailers that are open on Thanksgiving?"
yes: 8 percent | no: 87 percent

+ Shopping on the Friday after Thanksgiving? yes: 23 percent | no 68 percent

+ Favorite traditional Thanksgiving foods: turkey (37 percent), stuffing or dressing (21 percent), apple pie/pumpkin pie/sweet potatoes (tied at 10 percent each)

+ "Do you think you will gain weight during this holiday season, lose weight or remain at about the same weight as you are now?"
gain: 24 percent | lose: 5 percent | stay the same: 70 percent

SRI says the poll was conducted November 17-21, and the margin of error is +/- 3.9 percentage points.