No, the new iPhone is not the top item on Gen Z’s & Millennials’ holiday wishlists. Ypulse asked what they really want, and found the 18 gifts that are most desired by young consumers this year…
We’re about to hit peak holiday shopping season, with Black Friday and Cyber Monday right around the corner—and spending predictions have been coming in hot. Back in August, eMarketer reported that a major boost is predicted for holiday season sales—but mostly online. While total retail sales are expected to grow just 3.1%, ecommerce is predicted to jump nearly 17%, widening the “gap” between the two—a pattern we saw among Millennials last year. Online holiday shopping will reportedly make up 11.5% of total holiday season sales, and 9% of 2017’s retail total. Millennials aren’t just boosting online holiday shopping, they’re also predicted to boost overall spending. The International Council of Shopping Centers predicts a 3.8% rise in retail sales year over year, and found that nearly 92% of Millennials plan to spend some of their holiday budget in-store.
Our recent holiday shopping survey looked closely at Millennials and Gen Z’s holiday shopping plans, from where they plan to buy to how much they’re planning to spend. But of course, these generations aren’t just shaping their own holiday spending—they’re also impacting what older generations spend on. With Boomers and Xers buying presents for their Millennial and Gen Z kids, what young consumers want for the holidays is just as important on what they plan to buy themselves. (Oh, and almost half do plan to buy themselves something.) To find out what their biggest holiday gift desires are, we asked 1000 13-35-year-olds, “What ONE thing is at the top of your holiday wishlist?”* We’ve got their top 18 responses, and no, the iPhone X is not the most-wanted present of the year. Here’s what is:
*This was an open-end response question to allow us to capture the full range of items that Gen Z and Millennial consumers want for the holidays—without our preconceived ideas shaping their responses. As with any qualitative question, the responses include those that are top of mind and those that are most popular. The lists are ordered according to number of responses received, and alphabetically when ties occurred.
What’s at the Top of Their Holiday Wishlist?
13-35-year-olds
- Money
- Travel
- Clothing / Accessories
- Tickets / Experience
- Gaming console / computer
- Books
- Gift Cards
- Smartphone
- Shoes / Boots
- Housewares / Home Décor
- Video Games
- Jewelry / Watch
- Cooking Supplies
- Laptop / Computer
- Smartwatch
- Toys / Games
- Beauty Product
- Camera / Camera Accessories
Money, that’s what they want. As we saw last year, cold hard cash tops the list of gifts that Millennials and Gen Z want the most, and gift cards (another form of cash in many of their eyes) are a top ten item as well. (Though gift cards did drop slightly in demand.) Almost a quarter of 13-35-year-olds tell us that money/gift cards are the kind of item at the top of their holiday list. Incidentally, 18-20-year-olds were the most likely to say that money was a top wishlist item.
Several of the top items on their wishlists are things you won’t find in stores—including travel and tickets/experiences. But of course, their love for tech is apparent as well: gaming consoles or computers came in at number five on the ranking, and smartphone came in at number eight, and of those who did name a smartphone as their top wishlist item, iPhone was the most popular pick.
Smartphones were also a bit more popular among the youngest consumers than the older:
Gen Z is more likely than Millennials to say they want a smartphone, gift cards, and video games, while Millennials were more likely to say they want to be given travel, tickets/experiences, and books. But the two generations have some things in common: they both want money, first and foremost, a gift you won’t find on any store shelves.
To download the PDF version of this insight article, click here.
