PayPal's Top Predictions for the Holiday Shopping Season
As a company that processed 4.9 billion payments last year alone, PayPal surely knows what it’s talking about. So here are its main predictions for the upcoming holiday shopping season.
*These predictions are based on proprietary PayPal data and a survey commissioned by PayPal and conducted online by independent research company Koski Research. The survey polled 1,000 Americans planning to celebrate the holidays this season.
1. Most people will shop on their mobiles, because holiday shopping is stressful
When something is stressful, you don’t want to do it. Or you’d rather do something else instead. Well, 59% percent of Americans find holiday shopping stressful. 25% said they would rather shovel snow from their driveway than go holiday shopping. 20% of Young Boomers and Gen-Xers said they would rather go to the dentist. And 19% of Millennials said they would rather text with their boss over the weekend.
Because holiday shopping is stressful, shoppers are going to stay away from the crowded stores and do their holiday shopping online, on their mobile devices. Mobile payment transactions grew by 56% year-over-year and PayPal expects to see even more shoppers turn to their mobile devices during the upcoming holiday shopping season.
2. When you’re on your mobile, you can shop anywhere
If you’re going to do your holiday shopping online, on your mobile device, you can do it anywhere you want to. 50 % of all Americans (and 59% of Millennials) said they’ll do their shopping while binge-watching TV. 34% said they’ll shop in bed, while their partner or spouse is sleeping right next to them. And 22% said they’ll shop while on the toilet.
The fact that people are willing to do their shopping in the bathroom isn’t surprising. What is surprising is just how much the percentage has gone up. Back in 2014, it was just 15%. Now it’s gone up to 22%.
3. Eating and drinking won’t get in the way of a good deal
If people are going to do their shopping while on the toilet, do you think having dinner or socializing over drinks is going to stop them? No, it is not! 29% of Americans said they will have an alcoholic drink while shopping for holiday gifts and 35% said they’ll even shop while at the Thanksgiving table, if it means getting a good deal.
Focusing on Millennials, 1-in-5 will shop while at the dinner table with family and friends, and one-third will have a drink while shopping.
4. Millennials will pool funds for gifts
"Millennials will pool funds for gifts this holiday season, with 35% planning to collect funds from friends and family via P2P platforms," said Anuj Nayar, Head of Global Initiatives, PayPal.
"With group gifting on the rise, PayPal predicts more than 17 million P2P transactions in the month of December and that the gift box emoji will be used more than 350,000 times on Venmo in the months of November and December as people gift money and get paid back."
5. People will spend a lot, and give a lot
Here’s how much PayPal predicts people will spend:
Gen-Xers will donate $230 on average. Millennials will be a bit more generous, donating $245 on average. But the most generous of all will be Young Boomers, who will donate $416 on average.
TL;DR? Check this out!
Via EON.
"There have never been more options for Americans to shop in a way that works for them, and those options have fundamentally changed holiday shopping behavior," said Anuj Nayar, Head of Global Initiatives, PayPal. "Much like PayPal, holiday shopping has grown beyond simply one button at one moment, now encompassing the freedom of mobile devices, the social enjoyment of peer-to-peer payments, and the security and simplicity to make a purchase, with confidence, at a moment’s notice."
*These predictions are based on proprietary PayPal data and a survey commissioned by PayPal and conducted online by independent research company Koski Research. The survey polled 1,000 Americans planning to celebrate the holidays this season.
1. Most people will shop on their mobiles, because holiday shopping is stressful
When something is stressful, you don’t want to do it. Or you’d rather do something else instead. Well, 59% percent of Americans find holiday shopping stressful. 25% said they would rather shovel snow from their driveway than go holiday shopping. 20% of Young Boomers and Gen-Xers said they would rather go to the dentist. And 19% of Millennials said they would rather text with their boss over the weekend.
Because holiday shopping is stressful, shoppers are going to stay away from the crowded stores and do their holiday shopping online, on their mobile devices. Mobile payment transactions grew by 56% year-over-year and PayPal expects to see even more shoppers turn to their mobile devices during the upcoming holiday shopping season.
2. When you’re on your mobile, you can shop anywhere
If you’re going to do your holiday shopping online, on your mobile device, you can do it anywhere you want to. 50 % of all Americans (and 59% of Millennials) said they’ll do their shopping while binge-watching TV. 34% said they’ll shop in bed, while their partner or spouse is sleeping right next to them. And 22% said they’ll shop while on the toilet.
The fact that people are willing to do their shopping in the bathroom isn’t surprising. What is surprising is just how much the percentage has gone up. Back in 2014, it was just 15%. Now it’s gone up to 22%.
3. Eating and drinking won’t get in the way of a good deal
If people are going to do their shopping while on the toilet, do you think having dinner or socializing over drinks is going to stop them? No, it is not! 29% of Americans said they will have an alcoholic drink while shopping for holiday gifts and 35% said they’ll even shop while at the Thanksgiving table, if it means getting a good deal.
Focusing on Millennials, 1-in-5 will shop while at the dinner table with family and friends, and one-third will have a drink while shopping.
4. Millennials will pool funds for gifts
"Millennials will pool funds for gifts this holiday season, with 35% planning to collect funds from friends and family via P2P platforms," said Anuj Nayar, Head of Global Initiatives, PayPal.
"With group gifting on the rise, PayPal predicts more than 17 million P2P transactions in the month of December and that the gift box emoji will be used more than 350,000 times on Venmo in the months of November and December as people gift money and get paid back."
5. People will spend a lot, and give a lot
Here’s how much PayPal predicts people will spend:
- $25,000 – Total Payment Volume (TPV) per second at the peak of Cyber Monday.
- $64,000 – the cost of the largest holiday transaction on mobile.
- $141 million – how much will be spent on digital subscriptions.
Gen-Xers will donate $230 on average. Millennials will be a bit more generous, donating $245 on average. But the most generous of all will be Young Boomers, who will donate $416 on average.
TL;DR? Check this out!
Via EON.
"There have never been more options for Americans to shop in a way that works for them, and those options have fundamentally changed holiday shopping behavior," said Anuj Nayar, Head of Global Initiatives, PayPal. "Much like PayPal, holiday shopping has grown beyond simply one button at one moment, now encompassing the freedom of mobile devices, the social enjoyment of peer-to-peer payments, and the security and simplicity to make a purchase, with confidence, at a moment’s notice."
