Holiday shopping is in full swing as Americans buy gifts for their friends and family this year. Whether you've already bought gifts or you're still looking for inspiration, we have the data on the most popular items in 2023.
The National Retail Federation (NRF) recently published its survey of over 8,000 American consumers, where they asked people about their holiday shopping plans. Here's what people had to say:
Most Popular Gifts in 2023
According to the NRF's survey, these are the top five most popular gift categories this year:
- Clothing
- Gift cards
- Toys
- Books, video games and other media
- Food and candy
The NRF also asked parents what gifts they plan on buying for their children. Here is what they found, broken down by gender:
| Rank | Boys | Girls |
| 1 | Legos | Barbie |
| 2 | Hot Wheels | Doll |
| 3 | Cars | Legos |
| 4 | PlayStation | Makeup |
| 5 | Video games | Clothes |
| 6 | Trucks | L.O.L. dolls |
| 7 | Nerf | Baby doll |
| 8 | Spider-Man and remote-control car (tied) | Squishmallow |
| 9 | Pokémon | Arts & crafts and Barbie Dreamhouse (tied) |
| 10 | Nintendo Switch | Electronics |
Other Holiday Shopping Trends
The NRF survey found several other trends in holiday shopping this year.
Shoppers Find Gifts Through Online Search
A plurality of shoppers (44 percent) said they use online searches to get inspiration for gifts. That outstrips asking family and friends, in-store shopping and holiday wish lists.
For younger generations, social media is also a popular source of gift ideas. Shoppers under the age of 35 are looking to TikTok and Instagram to see what to buy for their loved ones this year. People between 35 and 44 prefer Facebook.
Shoppers Are Using Alternative Payment Methods
Alternative payment methods like PayPal, Apple Pay and Venmo are on the rise—59 percent of shoppers are using them this year, as opposed to 54 percent last year.
Shoppers are using these tools in addition to conventional payment methods. Forty-seven percent of people are using their debit cards and 35 percent are using credit cards this year. That's the opposite of five years ago when credit cards were more popular.
Gift Cards Remain Popular
Shoppers unsure about what to gift are choosing flexible gift cards. The NRF expects total gift card spending to exceed $29 billion this year.
The most popular gift card categories are:
- Restaurants
- Banks
- Department stores
- Coffee shops
Holiday Gift Card Deals
Deals on gift cards are like getting free money. If you buy a $50 gift card at 10 percent off, you're only paying $45 for $50 worth of spending power at that store.
We found these holiday gift card deals:
- Best Buy will give you a $10 Best Buy gift card when you spend $100 on Apple gift cards.
- Costco has a $100 Instacart gift card for $80 for members.
- Kroger will give you 10 percent off a $200 Lowe's gift card until December 10.
- Kroger will give you a 10 percent bonus when you buy a $25 gift card until December 11. That's an extra $2.50.
- PayPal has a $100 DoorDash gift card for $85.
- Sam's Club has a $500 Southwest Airlines gift card for $450.
- Target has 10 percent off gaming gift cards until December 9.
Are People Skipping Christmas Gifts This Year?
Americans have tightened their belts this holiday season, and some may skip holiday spending altogether.
According to a WalletHub survey, 34 percent of Americans will skip presents this year because of financial pressure. Others will give fewer gifts, and many are still paying off debt from last year's holiday spending.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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