Young adults are making sure to include themselves on their holiday gift lists.

 Consumers are being more selective with their spending this season, but Gen Z and millennial shoppers remain significantly more likely to indulge in self-care purchases.

During Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, Gen Z shoppers diverged from other age groups by significantly increasing their self-gifting purchases.

Dec. 22, 2024, 6:00 PM GMT+6

The holiday season is here, and young people are embracing the spirit of gifting—especially when it comes to treating themselves.

According to Deloitte's research, nearly half of Gen Z (47%) and millennial (43%) consumers plan to purchase gifts for themselves this holiday season. In comparison, only 27% of Gen Xers and 15% of baby boomers intend to do the same.

This year, a cautious, value-driven approach to holiday shopping has emerged, with retailers offering promotions to attract more budget-conscious shoppers—including those considering self-gifting. During the busy Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend, Gen Z shoppers stood out, increasing their self-gifting plans from 65% in 2023 to 69% in 2024, according to Deloitte. Popular categories for self-gifting include clothing, health and wellness products, electronics, and experiences like travel and live events. Lexi Zaragoza, a 26-year-old children's social worker in Santa Barbara, California, shared that her biggest splurge this year was a gold locket from the jewelry brand Catbird.

“At this age, I can just buy things for myself, so I’m going to,” she explained. Zaragoza, who is in her first full-time job after earning a master’s degree in 2022, also teaches cycling fitness classes and says she's now earning enough to comfortably shop for loved ones while treating herself.

Gen Z and millennials have often been criticized as self-centered or entitled, but experts argue their spending behavior may reflect economic realities. After adjusting for inflation, Gen Z and millennial workers—aged 12-27 and 28-43, respectively—actually have higher median incomes than previous generations did at the same age. They’re also more optimistic about the economy.

These younger generations are expected to drive significant holiday sales growth this year, while Gen X and baby boomers pull back. Gen Z’s holiday budgets are expected to grow by 37%, more than double the 16% growth expected from millennials, according to PwC.

“Gen Z is a big bright spot,” says Lupine Skelly, a retail research leader at Deloitte. “They’ve got massive spending potential.”

This spending power is partly due to the fact that young adults tend to have fewer financial obligations, such as mortgages, children, or caring for aging relatives. Many are waiting longer to have children and are less likely to own property compared to older generations. Moreover, young people from middle- and upper-income households appear to have more disposable income. A recent report by TransUnion found that Gen Z is far more likely to be authorized users on their parents' credit cards than millennials were at their age.

Skelly points out that some Gen Zers still benefit from financial support from their parents, such as for insurance or cell phone bills. Zaragoza and her peers see this reality firsthand: “None of us have kids. It’s hard for older generations to see us spending money like this because they were focused on their families at our age.”

However, Skelly emphasizes that much of Gen Z's spending is far from frivolous. As they enter adulthood, they need to buy essentials like furniture and cars. “They don’t have the amount of stuff that the rest of us have,” she says. The attractive holiday discounts also make it an opportune time for them to make necessary purchases at a lower cost.

Another factor driving self-gifting is Gen Z’s strong engagement with social media influencers. Unlike traditional TV ads, influencer marketing on platforms like TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram is personalized and relatable. Rodney Mason, head of marketing at LTK, says influencers serve as trusted figures who share aspirational content. “They’re like friends who have all the coolest stuff,” Mason explains. This relationship makes Gen Z shoppers more likely to act on wish list items once they see them go on sale.

Retailers are responding by adjusting their holiday ads to cater to self-gifters. For example, the brand Oura Ring emphasized self-care in its campaigns, seeing significant sales growth when it urged customers to "Give yourself the gift of health." This year, Oura’s marketing chief said that leaning into self-care during the holiday season felt like a natural fit as people’s lives continue to grow busier.

For Zaragoza, her self-gifting is more than just a short-term indulgence—she’s focused on buying things that will last. “Solid-gold jewelry, things for the home—things I was going to buy anyway,” she said. “So I might as well get them at a better deal during this time.”