NEW YORK—While holiday shoppers are worried about the overall economy, three in four consumers say they plan to maintain or increase their own Holiday spending, which will average about $948 this year, according to a new study from television and streaming measurement company Samba TV and global research firm HarrisX. 

The study also found that Black Friday and Cyber Monday take on new significance this year as people are delaying holiday shopping, making the crucial weeks after Thanksgiving even more important. 

One highlight of the Black Friday and holiday shopping data is that millennials have emerged as a crucial consumer group. 

About 83% of millennials say they will maintain or increase their holiday spending and they will be the biggest holiday spenders, exceeding any other age group by $600 and more than doubling baby boomers' spending, according to the researchers. 

The study found that millennials are planning to spend on average $1,474 versus $626 for boomers. Of millennials planning to spend more than last year, 40% say it’s because they’re in a better financial situation.

The survey found that 54% of people plan to wait until after Thanksgiving to begin their shopping. Millennials are the exception to the rule, however, with less than half waiting until November to begin shopping. 

The study also found that 70% of people plan to do holiday shopping on Black Friday this year. Half of U.S. adults plan to do an equal mix of in-store and online shopping this holiday season. Black Friday has younger generations hooked on brick-and-mortar, with 48% of Gen Z planning to in-store shop on retail’s most significant day of the year. About one third (34%) plan to shop in-store on Black Friday this year, while 58% plan to shop online on Cyber Monday.

"Most shoppers are planning to delay their holiday shopping until after Thanksgiving, making Black Friday and Cyber Monday crucial days for brands to capture attention and drive conversions this year,” Ashwin Navin, co-Founder and CEO of Samba TV. “And don’t forget about your deal shopper. With the bulk of this year’s dollars spent planned for purchases for oneself, consumers are using these holiday sales to get in on deals for themselves."

This survey was conducted online within the United States from August 22-30, 2023 among 2,507 adults and 2,171 holiday shoppers in the United States by HarrisX.

ARLINGTON, Va.—The Consumer Technology Association's (CTA) annual survey of tech related purchases during the holidays finds that content will be big this year, with streaming services and video game tech are among the top tech gifts people plan to give this season. 

Portable audio products, smartphones and health and wellness tech are among this year’s most sought-after tech. 

“The rising popularity of video streaming services as a holiday gift shows how diverse the tech we share has become in recent years,” said Lesley Rohrbaugh, director of research at CTA. “Common gifts like watches, toys and vehicle accessories are increasingly tech-centric. As technology becomes more present in our daily lives, the list of tech gifts consumers give will continue to grow.” 

The new CTA research noted that video streaming services like Disney+, Hulu, and Netflix have created a competitive market for easy-to-access video content and that more than 200 music, video and gaming streaming services are available to users. About 192 million U.S. adults (75%) plan to purchase at least one content-related product this holiday season.  

Interactive and immersive gaming experiences are driving a spike in the U.S. gaming market.  Staples like Microsoft’s Xbox Series X and Sony’s PlayStation 5, plus immersive AR/VR gaming realms like the HTC VIVE Pro and Meta’s Quest Pro, are increasingly popular.  

Nearly half of all U.S. adults surveyed (47%, up from 41% in 2021) plan to gift video streaming services. More than a third plan to gift gaming streaming services (37%). 

Overall, a record-breaking 78% (nearly 199 million) of U.S. adult shoppers will purchase tech products and services as gifts this holiday season. The number of U.S. adults purchasing tech as a holiday gift rose by three percentage points from 2021. These include: 

• 61 million gifting headphones/ear buds: Headphones and ear buds ranked first on the list of most sought-after holiday gifts for U.S. adult shoppers. 
• 59 million gifting streaming/downloading services: Streaming services deliver increasingly diverse content and holiday shoppers have a wider choice of subscriptions than ever.  
• 54 million gifting mobile device cases: Growth in the protective casing industry is driven by the popularity and affordability of mobile devices. 
• 50 million gifting smartphones: Smartphone makers keep innovating and advancing, giving early adopters a reason to seek out the latest updates and new functions.  
• 46 million gifting video game consoles: Video game consoles jumped from the seventh most popular tech gift in 2021 to the fifth most popular this holiday season.  
• The pandemic drove awareness of health and wellness products for the home, and sales of products like Apple Watch, Fitbit and Oura Ring show the rising popularity of smart, wearable tech for health-conscious gift givers. About 122 million (44%) of holiday shoppers plan to gift a health and wellness tech product this year.   

ARLINGTON, VA–The latest in high tech gadgets may get the most ink as we head into the holiday season but according to a survey by the Consumer Technology Association, it’s the venerable TV set that is at the top of their Christmas wish lists.

The CTA’s 25th Annual Consumer Technology Holiday Purchase Patterns Study predicts that technology spending during the 2018 holiday season (October–December) will reach a record-setting $96.1 billion in revenue in the U.S.–a year-over-year increase of 3.4 percent. The CTA says 164 million U.S. adults (66 percent) plan to purchase a tech product as a gift this year–on par with 2017.

“2018 has shown us that consumers are willing to spend a premium on technology that is essential to their everyday lives – such as smartphones, laptops and TVs – and we expect that dynamic to continue through the season, driving overall holiday consumer tech sales to a new high this year,” said Ben Arnold, senior director of innovation and trends, CTA. “In addition to those core devices, key emerging categories to watch this holiday season are smart home devices – powered by voice technology – smartwatches and wireless earbuds.”

This season, consumers will spend a record amount on emerging tech such as smart speakers, smart home devices and smartwatches.

• Smart Speakers: CTA projects smart speakers such as Amazon's Echo and Google Home, will have another strong holiday season, selling an expected 22 million units (up 44 percent over 2017). New for 2018 is the emergence of smart speakers with displays – six percent of overall shoppers plan to purchase a smart speaker with a screen and 12 percent plan to purchase a smart speaker without a screen.

• Smart Home Devices: Fueled by the popularity of voice technology, 36 percent of respondents plan to purchase a smart home product in 2018 – including smart speakers, security cameras, smart lightbulbs and video door bells.

• Smartwatches: Jumping up from last year, nearly one in five of U.S. adults plan to buy a smartwatch this year. CTA expects over seven million smartwatches will sell this holiday season – a 26 percent increase.

• Wireless Earbuds: Wireless earbuds are now a key holiday tech gift, with 5.3 million units expected to sell – a 60 percent increase over 2017. Forty percent of the U.S. adults planning to purchase a gift within the headphones/earbuds category say they’re likely to buy wireless earbuds this season.

• Drones: With expected sales of 1.5 million units this holiday season (up eight percent over 2017), drones continue to be a popular tech gift.

Top Five Most Wanted Tech Gifts Consumers Want to Receive

Once again, televisions are consumers’ most wanted tech gift, continuing the trend of bigger-ticket hub devices topping wish lists.

1. TV
2. Laptop
3. Smartphone and Tablet (tied)
4. Smartwatch
5. Desktop computer and Any Type of Camera (tied)

2018 Holiday Retail Tech Trends

Some key retail trends CTA expects to emerge this holiday season include:

• Spotlight on Voice: Last year marked the debut of voice as a fourth sales channel joining brick-and-mortar, online and mobile as methods of holiday shopping. In 2018, almost a quarter of respondents plan to research products and sales via a digital assistant and 16 percent plan to make a purchase using voice technology.

• Emerging Retail Channels: In addition to over half of Americans planning to shop online for tech this holiday season (52 percent) and 77 percent planning to shop in brick-and-mortar locations, retail channels will diversify and multiply in 2018. The number of shoppers who plan to shop using mobile devices will rise to 58 percent – surpassing online for the second year in a row. Further, about 33 percent plan to take advantage of same-day delivery, 31 percent in-home delivery (such as Amazon Key or Walmart Delivery), and nine percent plan to use in-app features like camera search.

• Holiday Season Expands: Just as Black Friday was pulled forward into Thanksgiving Day and extended to Cyber Monday, the full holiday shopping season is getting longer. With retailer-specific holidays in July, events such as Singles Day and heavy promotions earlier in the season, 27 percent of respondents indicate they plan to start their holiday shopping in October or earlier. At the same time, 83 percent of respondents don’t plan to purchase their gifts until November or December – likely due to the growing popularity of two- and same-day shipping programs.