Gen Z and Millennials Now Own Holiday Spending

This season, Holiday Spending finally has a new majority shareholder. For the first time in the survey's forty-one-year run, Gen Z and millennials are expected to account for half of all holiday outlays, according to Deloitte's holiday survey, released this week. The research points to an average household spend of about sixteen hundred fifty dollars, up four percent from last year, with the gains driven largely by younger shoppers who say their household finances improved after pulling back a year ago.

The headline number tells a confident story, but the details reveal a generation shopping on two tracks at once. Both Gen Z and millennials plan to increase their spending by double digits year over year, yet nearly three in ten shoppers say their budget will likely be exhausted by the end of October — the highest share in six years of polling. Deloitte surveyed four thousand United States consumers online between late August and early September, and the picture that emerged is of shoppers who are determined to keep the season bright while hunting for every deal along the way.

The clearest signal is where the money is going. Three-quarters of Gen Z shoppers plan to gift clothing and accessories this year, and nearly half say they will buy a gift for themselves — a higher rate than any other generation. Wish lists, faster delivery and personalized picks top the list of things that make a retailer worth visiting, a shift that could reshape how stores talk to their youngest customers.

The experience gift keeps gaining ground

One in two shoppers plans to give an experience this year, up from forty-seven percent last year. Two years ago the share stood at thirty-nine percent. Restaurant meals and gift cards lead the list at thirty-seven percent. Tickets to an event follow at nineteen percent. But the gift table of Holiday Spending is not going all-digital: seventy-nine percent of shoppers planning to give an experience also want to pair it with a physical item, and almost half prefer one meaningful, higher-cost gift over a pile of smaller ones.

The category rankings underline the same split. Clothing and accessories is the largest shopping category, drawing planned purchases from sixty-seven percent of shoppers. Toys and hobbies trail just behind at sixty-one percent. Shoppers expect to buy an average of eight gifts, unchanged from last year. Retail goods spending is set to rise ten percent to about nine hundred eighty-eight dollars, while spending on holiday activities and travel slips to about six hundred sixty-six dollars, down year over year.

The value-seeker paradox

Thirty-eight percent of shoppers qualify as what the firm calls holiday value seekers: people who shop promotions, redeem rewards and buy private-label or off-price goods. Sixty-five percent of them will have started shopping by late October, compared with forty-eight percent of shoppers on average, and forty-two percent plan to shop October sales — nearly as many as the forty-four percent heading to Cyber Monday. About one in five shoppers overall plans to start earlier than last year.

Here is the twist: these bargain hunters expect to spend twelve percent more than everyone else. "Additional factors driving value can include product quality and trust in the brand," Danielle McCarthy, the firm's U.S. consumer products sector leader, said in an email, as reported by Chief Marketer. The bargain hunt is not about spending less — it is about making every dollar feel worth it.

That tension runs through the whole survey. Forty-five percent of respondents expect the economy to stay the same or improve, and younger shoppers report better household finances than a year ago. Yet the early start to the season looks partly defensive: with more than a quarter of shoppers expecting their budgets tapped out before November, buying early is also a way of spreading the damage across paychecks.

What it means for your wallet

"For the first time in our annual survey, Gen Z and millennials are expected to account for 50% of holiday spending, presenting a meaningful opportunity for retailers," said Natalie Martini, vice chair and leader of Deloitte's U.S. retail and consumer products sector, in the firm's announcement. She added that younger shoppers' preferences — wish lists, faster delivery and personalized gifts — can help stores make the experience more relevant and convenient.

For readers, the survey reads like a permission slip. Half of Gen Z shoppers plan to treat themselves alongside everyone else, and the experience trend fits a generation that has long favored doing over having: recent research found Gen Z's shopping habits already lean toward experiences and exploration across more merchants than older shoppers. Pairing a concert ticket with something wrapped, or a restaurant gift card with a small physical token, matches exactly how the numbers say the season is going.

The catch is the budget calendar. With record holiday airfares already pressuring travel plans and rent relief uneven across cities — some markets are finally seeing softer rental markets — the value-seeker playbook matters: start early, stack promotions with loyalty points, and decide the meaningful gift before the season decides for you. November remains the largest shopping period of the season, so the lists made now will be the ones that survive it.