Nearly seven in 10 Americans (69%) said they would skip exchanging gifts this holiday season if their friends and family agreed to it, according to a new survey conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of SunTrust Banks. At a time when many young shoppers seek out experiences over physical gifts, it’s likely that retailers will need to rethink their holiday strategies as these generations gain more buying power.
The RTP team shares their thoughts on gift-giving as part of today’s holiday shopping experiences, and explains how retailers can adapt to changing consumer preferences.
Debbie Hauss, Editor-in-Chief: I think the Harris poll is on target and should be considered seriously by retailers and brands. For me, gift giving definitely has changed, but it could be because all my kid are adults and I don’t have grandchildren to spoil yet. That said, I always have tried to incorporate experiences into my gifts to my kids, based on their individual likes and dislikes, which also is a gift to me because then I get to spend some quality time with them. And, since they’re all so different, it’s usually a one-on-one gift: a nice dinner with my youngest, a hiking trip with my oldest and a sporting event with my middle son. Also, of all the holiday shopping days leading up to the end of the year, the only one I’ve participated in so far is Giving Tuesday, Nov. 28. This is another important element of the holidays that retailers and brands should think about as they are planning strategies for this time of year.
Adam Blair, Executive Editor: The holidays used to fill me with dread around gift-giving (they still do, occasionally). In a previous relationship, a breakthrough occurred when I told my then-husband the best gift he could give me was to tell me exactly what he wanted for Christmas. No more hinting, no more guessing, no more pretending he liked something that he would gladly exchange. So the results of this survey seem spot-on to me. Personally, I would gladly spend money for a lovely meal out or a night at the theater with friends and family rather than shop for a physical gift. But I don’t want to be responsible for the collapse of the retail industry as we know it. I think the technologies that help hapless gift-givers like myself, particularly those employing AI and machine learning, are a step in the right direction. For those born without the gifting “gene,” we need all the help we can get.
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Marie Griffin, Managing Editor: I’m not someone who would like to give up holiday gift-giving, but there are few people with whom I exchange gifts nowadays. I enjoy the activity of hunting down special items that I hope will delight and surprise the recipient. I like to put together multiple items that fit a theme, and I like to find deals because it enables me to give something of greater value than I can necessarily afford. My second favorite gift category is a donation. Many charities, like the World Wildlife Fund, now offer catalogs of gifts that recognize the donation and give the recipient something tangible. But the best experience of all is to give a toy to a child and see his or her eyes light up. There are no little ones in my family this year, but I look forward to enjoying those precious moments sometime in the future.
Klaudia Tirico, Features Editor: I do my best to pay attention to what my friends and family like, dislike, want or don’t want throughout the year, just so I don’t have to stress too much about what I should get them when the holidays roll around. As a Millennial and someone who has seen recent survey reports and statistics on consumers preferring experiences over physical items, I am not surprised by the results of the Harris poll. Everything is so darn expensive these days that having the money both for experiences with family, and for gift giving, is hard to come by. So I can see why families prefer to save their hard-earned money to, say, take the kids to see the Radio City Christmas Spectacular in NYC instead of buying them an overpriced piece of plastic like a Hatchimal that they’re bound to toss in the trash less than a year later (or possibly even sooner). A great idea for retailers would be to turn their stores into a holiday experience, or host events in stores where families can spend time together and maybe even buy a gift or two. Examples include meet-and-greets/photos with Santa or holiday cookie decorating events (particularly if it’s a food store).
Glenn Taylor, Senior Editor: Despite the idea that gift giving is difficult (and it definitely can be), people still take on the challenge for holidays and celebrations of all kinds. NRF’s post-Thanksgiving weekend data noted that 75% of average spending over the five-day period specifically went toward gifts. While people will spend as much as $360 on themselves during the whole season, they still spend $680 on family (57% of their total budget). But I do think there is something to the idea of creating store experiences where people want to spend numerous hours of their day browsing the aisles. I know many retailers are still hesitant to include experiences such as shows, concerts and classes in the majority of their stores, but the time to put forth the investment would definitely be in the biggest six weeks of the year.
