Consumers in the United States were expected to spend about $906 on average for Christmas in 2017. Each consumer was projected to buy an average of 14.7 Christmas gifts this year. On Cyber Monday, consumers spent a record $6.59 billion, making it a record-breaking day. On that day, consumers spent over $2 billion on mobile devices, also setting a record. Many consumers participated in Black Friday sales where they spent $2.36 billion. Holiday sales have a huge economic impact in many different sectors.
Where Consumers Shopped
Over 50 percent of consumers said that they would do the majority of their Christmas shopping online, although many consumers said they would visit a retail location before ultimately buying the gift online. About 43 percent said that they would shop at a discount retailer while 32 percent planned on shopping at a department store. Finally, just 23 percent said they planned to shop at an outlet store.
Toys
Roughly 40 percent of consumers said that they would buy a toy for someone on their shopping list this year. Iconic toys for kids introduced at Christmas time have included classics like G.I. Joe introduced in 1964, Star Wars action figures introduced in 1977, Cabbage Patch Kids introduced in 1983 and Transformers introduced in 1984. In 2017, toy companies hoped that consumers would continue the trend of recent years with more consumers than ever before buying toys. Playsets also continued to rank high on the list of buys, ranging from the Maya Toys Play Cooking Set to the Magic Chef Station.
Experiences
Gift givers turned away from buying traditional gifts this past holiday season opting instead to give experiences. Many chose to give a short-term vacation rental gift card this holiday season while others opted to give the gift of attending a live performance. Still, others gifted cooking classes. There was also a huge rise in the number whom gave someone a wine or beer tasting experience.
Gift Cards
Once again, consumers planned to buy gifts cards during the 2017 holiday shopping season. Over 61 percent of consumers said that they would prefer a gift card over a physical gift. In fact, gift cards remained the top requested gift for nine years in a row. Younger consumers preferred to receive electronic gift cards while older consumers still preferred a gift card that they could hold in their hand. Restaurant gift cards were the top choice of people asked in a survey about what they would like to receive, followed closely by cards such as Visa and Mastercard that are good almost anywhere. Department store gift cards, however, remained a popular choice. More men than women said that they planned to give gift cards during 2017’s Christmas season.
Christmas holiday spending has a huge economic impact on companies in every segment. Consumers opened 2017 with record spending on holiday gifts, which gave companies hope that the past season would be exceptionally strong. While more than ever before was spent on gift cards and experiences, consumers still flocked to the internet and brick-and-mortar retailers for the hottest Christmas toys.
