11 Weird Holiday Shopping Predictions From Serious Researchers

1. Men are shattering holiday shopping stereotypes

Marketing researchers start polling early. The only thing earlier is how quick men are finishing up their holiday shopping lists. A survey released by credit card information site CompareCards found that men were more than three times as likely to have finished their holiday shopping by Labor Day than ladies. Eleven percent of men were done, while only 3 percent of women were.

2. Trump's China tariffs won't hurt your budget this year as much as expected

Following President Trump's $200 billion tariffs on Chinese goods this September, experts predicted a major rise in holiday gift-giving budgets. But as the National Retail Foundation (NRF) suggests, there should only be a modest increase in average holiday spending from $967 in 2017 to $1,007 this year. Most retailers imported Chinese products over the summertime before that group of tariffs, leaving the expected rise to be minimal, the NRF reports. 

For tips to stay on track of your spending, check out How to Make a Holiday Budget. 

3. Americans will spend more if they can make payments

Speaking of spending more, Americans aren’t exactly cutting down their holiday budgets this year. A poll of 2,000 holiday shoppers conducted by payment processing and fintech company Square shows a whopping 61 percent will spend even more money if they can spread their payments out over time.

4. Feed your millennial’s fear of missing out

Nearly all (90 percent) of millennials polled by influencer marketing company Heartbeat would prefer the gift of an experience like a plane or concert ticket, instead of tangible things. Yet, only 45 percent of them have ever given that type of gift themselves. And 48 percent of the generation burdened by student loan debt plan to spend anywhere from $100-$500. 

5. Millennials are spending more on holidays than everyone else

Here’s a reason to reward your favorite young person with the perfect gift: They’re planning to spend more on you. Actually more on everyone, according to professional services company Accenture’s Holiday Shopping survey. Its poll finds that Americans overall will spend $658 on holiday shopping this year, on average. Meanwhile, older millennials will spend $779.

6. The convenience of technology won't stop shoppers from spending at the mall

Cyber Monday sales went up by nearly 20 percent from last year. Americans spent $7.9 billion compared to $6.6 billion in 2017, according to data from Adobe Analytics. And we're not done yet.

Despite the convenience of online shopping with digital assistance tools like Siri and Alexa more people plan to hit the mall this year, says a study from Citi Retail Services. Seventy-three percent of shoppers are doing traditional shopping this year. Meanwhile, 57 percent will use a computer, 42 percent will use a tablet or smartphone, and only 13 percent will include their virtual assistant to help spread their holiday spirit through shopping.  

7. Workers consider gift cards as important as cash for holiday bonuses

Would you prefer cash or a gift card? Most workers would still prefer cash as a bonus from their boss, but the amount who would take the plastic is creeping up.

Fintech company Blackhawk Network released a study last month revealing that 69 percent of workers say they prefer their holiday bonus to come in the form of a gift card compared to the 73 percent who would prefer a cash bonus from work.

8. We don't care now that we'll regret our holiday debt later

When it comes to the holidays, Americans are a lot like alcoholics. Every year we go through the holiday debt hangover but never learn a lesson. According to MagnifyMoney's annual post-holiday debt poll, last year we racked up more than $1,000 worth of debt from the holidays. 

This year, 1 in 6 plan to open a credit card for holiday shopping. Here's the kicker: 1 in 5 will be in debt until at least February, according to a poll from personal finance website WalletHub.

9. Holiday shopping isn’t only stressful in the stores

Shopping for the winter holidays isn’t only nerve-racking at the mall, it is online as well. To the point where Americans will make careless shopping decisions, like purchasing from a potentially fake website. Fifty-three percent feel that holiday stress causes them to behave carelessly online, according to a study from cybersecurity company McAfee.

10. Amazon is forcing other online vendors to step up their game

It seems like Amazon Prime has consumers convinced that two days is now the expected shipping time. Research from technology solutions company Voxware finds that 48 percent of online holiday shoppers expect their purchases to arrive within two days of checkout. And 87 percent expect that deadline to be met more this time of year than any other.

11. Seniors are online shopping as much as Gen Xers and millennials

By now most Americans have caught on to buying holiday gifts through an e-commerce platform. What’s interesting is nearly the same amount of older consumers are holiday shopping online as everyone younger than them, according to a poll from mobile and internet service provider Ting. Seventy-eight percent of all age groups will shop online. Meanwhile, 74 percent of those 60 and older will, too. Oh, how tech-savvy our parents have become.

This article by Joe Pye was originally published on Debt.com.