This Holiday Season Will Be the Year of Gifting Yourself

“Treat yourself” appears to be the motto Gen Z and millennials will take this particular holiday season (and it isn’t a terrible one at that). At least, that’s all according to a new data report that explores how people will navigate the holidays this year amid an unprecedented global health crisis. Fullscreen, a social media content company, surveyed 500 people between the ages of 18 and 37 for the report to gather insights on consumerism this holiday season; and according to the results, this will be the year of gifting yourself. 

While 64% of Gen Z and millennials said gifts will not be as important this year, 50% agreed that they’re going to focus more on the meaning of the holidays rather than gifts, per Fullscreen’s report. And while 44% said that the pandemic will impact their gift purchases, 72% maintained that they are likely to treat themselves this holiday season. (45% are prioritizing self-care gifts, while 32% are prioritizing products that will “make their lives easier,” per the report.)

In terms of what consumers will be purchasing this year, the data reports that tech (34%) and home (27%) items are the top two gifts that consumers are coveting this year, which makes sense since we’ve all collectively been spending more time indoors due to social distance and quarantine guidelines. Beauty (23%) and fashion (22%) follow closely behind.

In addition to what Gen Z and millennials will be shopping for, the pandemic will also impact how Gen Z and millennials will be shopping. 25% will opt out of Black Friday sales this year, a contrast to last year when respondents said that 75% of their holiday shopping would occur on Black Friday or Cyber Monday. Meanwhile, 23% respondents said they would be shopping on Cyber Monday, and 14% agreed that supporting small businesses is especially important this year.

While the holiday season will look a lot different this year, “treating yourself” is a consumer trend we could definitely get behind.