You liked it so much, you decided to buy it for yourself. How many times has that happened?
Quite a lot, it seems.
Nearly one quarter (22 percent) of Americans say they usually buy themselves gifts over the holidays, according to a new survey by market research group Mintel. Holiday “self-gifting” is most popular among younger generations: 24 percent of those aged 18 to 22 self-gift, compared to 27 percent of millennials aged 23 to 40. Still, most people appear to be spending their money on their friends and loved ones, even if more than half (57 percent) say they’d rather spend the holiday season buying gifts for themselves.
And many of those who don’t want to buy gifts are not Grinches. They’re willing to give something far more precious — their time. Some 60 percent of consumers said they would skip exchanging gifts this holiday season in lieu of spending time with their loved ones, a separate survey conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of SunTrust Banks found. Financial anxiety during the holidays could be a reason for rethinking gift-giving and focusing on other priorities,” the report said.
A slew of research supports the theory that experiences make you happier than stuff. Ryan Howell, an associate professor of psychology at San Francisco State University, has spent a large portion of his career studying happiness and purchases. His own studies, among others, have shown that spending money on experiences rather than stuff can lead to a more lasting happiness. His theory: Everything has a price tag, except memories.
And the person least likely to receive a holiday gift? A previous study by market researcher Harris Poll for national staffing company Spherion found that a majority of workers don’t plan to give gifts to their colleagues (56 percent,) boss (59 percent) or any other co-workers (61 percent) for that matter. More than a quarter of these workers said they don’t know their co-workers well enough to buy them gifts and a similar percentage said they don’t want to appear as though they are trying to be their boss’s favorite.