Gen X and Baby Boomers to spend the most this holiday season

By

Jennifer Braun

Published
Nov 13, 2019

Holiday shopping is on everyone’s mind and Gen X and Baby Boomers are expected to spend the most this season, according to insights from the 2019 Holiday Purchase Intentions Survey published by The NPD Group.

 
Gen X shoppers will be on the hunt for a variety of items and are the most likely generation to buy clothing and accessories at 68 percent, with 44 percent to buy entertainment items for their holiday gifts.  
 
Meanwhile, Boomers are more likely than all other generations to shop liquor or wine as holiday gifts at 26 percent. 

Besides shopping different product categories, Gen X and Boomers will also be holiday shopping in different places. While Boomers will be shopping at department stores and national chains, Gen X is most likely to shop mass merchants and online pure-plays. 
 
The younger generations - Gen Z and Millennials – will be spending less than their older counterparts, but one-third of Millenials plan to spend more than they did in 2018. They are also more likely than all other generations to buy electronics at 46 percent and shop 'dollar stores' at 19 percent. 
 
The different generations will also begin their shopping at different times. 
 
Gen Z will start shopping on Black Friday, as will about one-fifth of Gen X, but 57 percent of Boomers plan to start shopping even earlier before Thanksgiving.
 
“No consumer can be left behind in today’s increasingly competitive retail environment where shoppers demand a more personalized approach than ever before,” said Marshal Cohen, chief industry advisor, The NPD Group. 
 
“In order to win the holiday retail battle, marketers need to address holiday shoppers across every generation, and also make them feel like they matter.”
 
An online survey was fielded to members of The NPD Group’s online consumer panel in September 2019. The survey was fielded to a U.S. representative sample and includes the results of 3,485 completed surveys.