Prodege Survey: What Do People Really Want for the Holidays?

It’s that time of year where you’re struggling to remember who you bought for, what you bought, and how much you spent last year for the holidays. Could you be buying fewer gifts or leaning on White Elephant exchanges to lessen your shopping load?

As holiday shopping nears a fever pitch, Prodege surveyed 1,019 of its members aged 18 to 69 about holiday shopping strategies, what they really think about White Elephant exchanges, and whether it’s OK to return a holiday gift.

Gifters Setting a Spending Budget Get an A for Effort, But Don’t Always Stick to It.

While the majority (58%) set a holiday spending budget each year, 22% tend to spend more than they’ve allocated. Even if they set a budget, it doesn’t necessarily mean their spouse will be in the know.

Is This the Year to Trim the Gift List?
The majority give presents to at least six people every holiday season. However, this total could be whittled down a bit; the majority feel it’s only necessary to give gifts to five people or fewer.

White Elephant Exchanges Play to Both Convenience and Stress.
The most common sentiment around White Elephant exchanges is “it’s hard to come up with a gift that everyone will like” (78%), but almost as many (73%) appreciate the convenience of being able to “get just one gift for a group”.

Clothing is Iffy. Experiences Are a Safer Bet.
Six-in-ten of those surveyed have returned a holiday gift at least occasionally. By far, the most common type of holiday gift to return? Clothing.

Does a gift need to be a physical object to be successful? Over eight-in-ten appreciate receiving experience gifts at least some of the time. A scant 14% always prefer receiving physical gifts.

“As a lifelong sports fan, tickets to a sporting event are a great gift that gives me a fun experience to look forward to, with the added bonus of getting to spend time with family or friends,” said Chuck Davis, CEO and Chairman of Prodege, LLC. “Shoppers on our rewards platforms including Swagbucks and MyPoints earn cash and gift cards for purchasing event tickets, restaurant meals, hotel reservations, or other experience gifts from a range of sites including Groupon, Ticketmaster, StubHub, and Hotels.com.”

When to Shop?
With all of the daily holiday shopping promotions that have emerged in recent years, which hold the most sway? Those surveyed most eagerly await two of the most publicized shopping days: Black Friday and Cyber Monday. To help shoppers earn money to offset their holiday spending, Prodege’s consumer rewards platforms will be offering a range of shopping promotions during the upcoming shopping holidays and throughout the holiday shopping season.

Read the full press release here.