2017 Holiday Shopping Trends: What Kids Want & What Parents Buy

Insights into parents’ buying patterns for their children’s gifts during the holiday period

Holiday shopping is one of the most anticipated activities of the year. With less than three weeks to go before Christmas, parents are hitting the buy button and making their shopping trips to get the best gifts for their kids.

The GetWizer 2017 Holiday Season and Kids’ Gift Study offers insights into parents’ buying patterns for their children’s gifts during the holiday period. By conducting “assisted interviews” with 700 parents and their children, the study gives a glimpse of what categories, brands, and toys are at the top of their lists. 

Here’s a rundown of interesting trends we uncovered in the research:

• There’s still time for more deals. Black Friday and Cyber Monday might be over, but the majority (68%) of parents are going to shop one to two weeks before Christmas. Parents (38%) cite “waiting for deals” and “there’s still plenty of time for holiday shopping” for delaying it to this period.
• More budget for the children. The average budget for gifts this holiday season is $637. The majority (61%) of parents plan to spend over $350 for their children’s gifts, while 22% of which are going to spend $750 or more.
• Kids want electronics, video games, and arts & crafts. While two-thirds of parents involve children in what gifts to buy, for those who are buying on their own, these popular ones should be on top of the list.
• Parents are taking advantage of online shopping, but some are still making that trip to retail outlets. The majority (76%) of parents plan to make a portion of their purchases online. Still, 53% expect to shop in a large national toy store. Parents even consider Walmart (77%) as their shopping outlet of choice over Amazon.com (73%).

These are just a few of the top line insights from our research. If you would like to know more, check out the whitepaper. This is an exciting opportunity for brands to know more about their customers.