YouGov, the global research data and analytics tech group, is reporting that 82 percent of Americans celebrate Christmas, and 42 percent of those who celebrate this year will shop for gifts for six or more people. However, 53 percent of these consumers’ spending is expected to stay about the same as last year, while 28 percent plan to spend less. That data and those observations, and much more, are included in the company’s recently published U.S. Christmas Gifting Trends Report.

The report identifies that last year’s gift givers spent $368, on average, and forecasts which gifts will be most popular among different demographic groups this year. 

  • Of the 82 percent of Americans who celebrate Christmas, 42 percent typically buy gifts for six people or more, with 11 percent buying for 11-to-20 people.  
  • Men are more likely to be last-minute shoppers than females (36 percent vs 29 percent) 
  • 64 percent of Christmas gift buyers plan to make most of their purchases online, versus 36 percent planning to make most of their purchases in-store 
  • Gift cards and vouchers are the most popular gift to buy, slightly ahead of clothing (54 percent vs 52 percent), though not for Americans aged 18-to-34 (59 percent vs 41 percent) 
  • 39 percent of Christmas gift buyers cite word of mouth as their primary source of inspiration, which is 27 percentage points higher than the next highest source (12 percent for TV ads) 

“Even in an era where social media advertising dominates, word of mouth will be the best way for companies to make their products the hottest Christmas gift of 2024,” said Kenton Barello, VP, YouGov. “Our data suggests that 18- to 34-year-olds are twice as likely to get their gift ideas from word of mouth than from social media ads.” 

Combining global survey research with syndicated data in YouGov Profiles and YouGov BrandIndex, the report also uncovers how important sales are to Christmas shoppers and that Walmart, Nike, Bath & Body Works, and Samsung were some of the buzziest brands in their categories throughout December last year.  

To download a free copy of the full report, go here.