Generational Christmas Shopping
Posted On December 4, 2012
As the holiday shopping season shifts into high gear, Millennials and Baby Boomers both plan to spend, but each generation will shop in its own way. Millennials will use smartphone and online shopping about twice as much as Boomers. Boomers on the other hand, are much more likely to visit brick-and-mortar stores and use traditional coupons and sales.
Millennials and Gen Xers plan to spend about $820 on gifts this year while Baby Boomers plan to spend about $760. The big difference is in how they plan to spend the money. About half of Millennials will use smartphones to compare and research products and prices while less than a quarter of Boomers will do the same. And about a quarter of Millennials will actually make holiday purchases with their phones while less than 10% of Boomers will. Nearly two-thirds of Boomers say their phones will play no part in their shopping at all. Millennials (37%) are also more likely to use social networks in shopping than Boomers (23%).
Another generational difference: Millennials (77%) are more likely than older generations (44%) to shop for themselves during the holiday season, a practice called “self-gifting.”
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324784404578141391672304034.html