Ypulse, Inc., the leading authority on Millennials and teens, released today the results of their annual Holiday Shopping Survey.
While all Millennials intend on doing some holiday shopping in 2015, nearly two-thirds (65%) have stablished a budget for their spending this year. Millennials intend to spend, on average, $352 on holiday shopping in 2015 and their primary gift-giving recipient is Mom (84%). According to 2014 Census population estimates[1], there are 91.3 million Americans aged 13 to 33 which, when multiplied by this $352 holiday shopping budget, will result in more than $32 billion in holiday spending.
Shopping for Siblings (71%) and / or shopping for Dad (70%) is on the minds of roughly seven out of 10 Millennials, while shopping for friends is planned for nearly three out of five Millennials (58%).
When it comes to what Millennials would like to receive, results varied dramatically between males and females.
For Millennial males, nearly one-third (32%) would prefer to receive technology, while nearly three in ten (29%) would prefer cash or gift cards as a holiday gift. Lagging behind tech and money, Millennial males would like to receive clothing (12%) or books (9%).
Millennial females would prefer to receive money or gift cards (29%), followed by clothing (18%), technology (11%) or an experience (11%). When it comes to the article of clothing that they’d like to receive as a gift, more than two out of five Millennial females would like to receive a new pair of boots (44%).
While retailers can expect more than three quarters (77%) of Millennials to shop on Black Friday and / or Cyber Monday, they should anticipate Millennials to be more cautious with their money than they were last year. Comparing purchase intentions to 2014, Millennials plan to spend 22% less on Black Friday and 21% less on Cyber Monday in 2015. Again, with such a large population, the stakes are high: Millennials plan on spending more than $27 billion on themselves and others during Black Friday and more than $22 billion on themselves and others on Cyber Monday. All told, Millennials intend to spend $49.5 billion across these two shopping days.
Which retailers stand to gain the most based on Millennials’ current plans? Amazon has displaced Walmart for the top spot on Black Friday and is crushing the competition on Cyber Monday. Best Buy has gained momentum, particularly among Millennial males, while Bath & Body Works and eBay have knocked department stores such as Macy’s and Kohl’s out of our top 5 retailer rankings for 2015.
Holiday traditions, particularly spending time with family and gathering for holiday meals are very important to Millennials, with signs that Millennials are conflicted when it comes to the reality of holiday shopping. When asked a series of agree / disagree statements, the top five sentiments expressed by Millennials (indicated by agreeing strongly or somewhat agreeing on a four point scale) included:
- 86% agreed with the statement: I wish that retailers didn’t play games with pricing – I just want what I want at a fair price
- 77% agreed with the statement: I enjoy the rush of buying something at a deep discount
- 75% agreed with the statement: I don’t think its right for stores to be open on Thanksgiving
- 70% agreed with the statement: I wish that the holidays were less focused on gifts and gifting
- 68% agreed with the statement: I support companies that close their retail locations on Black Friday
Survey Methodology
The survey was conducted online via a nationally representative sample of 1,000 respondents aged 13 to 33 surveyed via Ypulse’s proprietary online panel, SurveyU.com, from November 6th to November 12th, 2015.
Comparisons to 2014 are made via identical question wording conducted within a nationally representative sample of 1,000 respondents aged 13 to 32 surveyed online via SurveyU.com from October 29th to November 4th, 2014.
About Ypulse
Ypulse, Inc. is the leading authority on tween, teen, and young adult insights for marketing and media professionals, providing news, commentary, research and strategy. The Ypulse mission is to ignite authentic conversations between brands and Millennials so that every step of the creative process is inspired by the wants, needs, and desires of next generation consumers. Ypulse has an integrated platform that is comprised of a daily newsletter, a subscription-based SAAS website (www.ypulse.com), and an online research community (www.surveyu.com).
No comments yet.