The research found 35% of Kiwis intend to use their smartphone to source presents.

It also found that three quarters of the respondents (75%) felt confident that they were going to have all their presents organised by Christmas Eve due to the shopping opportunities at their fingertips.

This means avoiding the frantic last-minute shopping trip on the night before Christmas.

The results echo that of the latest Nielson Online Retail report, which found that 655,000 people are shopping on their smartphones, a growth of 127% year on year.

But this may mean bad news for retailers, which last year experienced a 7.5% increase in in-store spending in December in 2013.

 Paymark head of sales and marketing, Paul Whiston, which processes the majority of electronic transactions in New Zealand, says last year’s pre-Christmas rush provided a boost for retailers.

“The figures were positively impacted by the Christmas rush – Christmas Eve alone was up 18.5 per cent,” he says.

However, this years Paymark figures show Christmas is off to a slow start in 2014 – spending for the first week of December was only up 4.9% from the same week last year, compared to 2013’s 8.6% spending increase from 2012.

A PayMark spokesperson, Mark Spicer, said one of the reasons contributing to this was a trend towards online shopping.

SellShed CEO Peter Howell says the company has seen a rise in the number of people using their app as the silly season approaches.

“People are enjoying the convenience of shopping online or on a smartphone app, and avoiding the crowds and long waits that are often associated with the traditional Christmas shopping period,” he says.

But though gift-givers may try their hardest to get it right, respondents were already considering the options in front of them for getting rid of unwanted presents.

The results found 56% of people would consider putting a present up for sale online if they didn’t want it.

The younger members of your family and friends are the ones to watch when giving gifts, as your well-thought out present could be up for sale online on Boxing Day.

25 to 34 year-olds are the most likely to put presents up for sale over any other age group (67%), compared to less tech savvy over-65 year olds (41%).