As a global leader in digital payments, PayPal sees the online shopping landscape unlike anyone else in the world. We get to take part in how technology is radically transforming the shopping experience, which is most visible during the holiday season.
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.
Shoppers will take advantage of this freedom in many ways: to help relieve the stress of the season, to take advantage of a great deal, or sometimes, conducting their sending, spending and giving in an entirely new place! We combined data from our network with a new survey to better understand these trends and here’s what we discovered.
Shoppers will turn to mobile to stress less, buy big and make the most of Cyber Monday.
The majority (59%) of Americans find holiday shopping to be stressful; so much so they’d rather do a multitude of unenviable activities than fight the holiday shopping crowds. More than a quarter of Americans would rather shovel snow from their driveway; 1-in-5 Young Boomers and Gen-Xers would rather go to the dentist; and, about 1-in-5 Millennials (19%) would rather text with their boss over the weekend.
Fortunately, more and more shoppers are taking advantage of their mobile devices to simplify their shopping. Thanks to innovations like
PayPal One Touch™, where shoppers can remain logged in to check out faster across millions of merchants, PayPal saw a 56% year-over-year increase in mobile payment transactions this past quarter[1]and we expect to see more shoppers turn to their mobile devices during holidays.
Smartphone shopping isn’t just for stocking stuffers, however – PayPal predicts the largest holiday transaction on mobile will cost more than $64,000.[2] Not too long ago, the thought of buying the equivalent of a beautiful car on a mobile device seemed like the distant future!
Also, this Cyber Monday will mark the summit of the shopping season once again, and PayPal expects more than $25,000 in Total Payment Volume (TPV) per second at peak of Cyber Monday[3] – with 40% of Millennials planning to shop on a mobile device that day.
Anytime, anywhere shopping will reach new heights … and locations.
Even more than how they pay, shoppers are also particular about how and when they shop this season.
Case in point: 22% of respondents reported they will shop on the toilet—an increase of
7 percentage points over 2014! Furthermore, more than a third (34%) will shop in bed for their partner or spouse while they are sleeping next to them.
Also interesting, is the rise of the second screen: half of Americans, and even more Millennials (59%), plan to do their holiday shopping while binge-watching TV. All that TV binging could signal what’s on their wish list as PayPal predicts consumers will spend more than $141 million on digital music and entertainment subscriptions this holiday season with PayPal.[4]
Fortunately, wherever consumers are or what else they’re doing at the time, PayPal connects them with a vast network of 15 million merchants – from local artisans to big retailers – all over the world so they can find one-of-a-kind gifts without even having to leave the couch (or, wherever they may be).
Shopping and socializing will collide this holiday season, as Americans eat, drink and shop merry.
Combining shopping with dinner or drinks is no longer considered the faux pas it once was, especially if there is a bargain to be had. We found that 35% of Americans say they would even shop online at the Thanksgiving table to make sure they get a good deal. In general, one in five Millennials will shop at the dinner table with family and friends.
They won’t be shopping parched, either: 29% of Americans – and one-third of Millennials – will have an alcoholic drink while shopping for holiday gifts. For those shoppers who buy something that doesn’t fit, isn’t right, or just regret the choice they made after a few glasses of egg nog, shoppers can get their eligible
return shipping costs reimbursed when shopping with PayPal. Limitations apply.
Gifting will become a group sport—and settling up will be simple and social with P2P payments.
Peer-to-peer (P2P) payments like PayPal and Venmo are helping to eliminate holiday hassles, particularly among Millennials.
With group gifting on the rise, PayPal predicts more than 17 million P2P transactions in the month of December[5] alone. Still not sure about P2P’s place in the holidays? We expect the gift box emoji will be used more than 350,000 times on
Venmo[6] in the months of November and December as people gift money and get paid back.
Incredibly, half of Millennials will pool funds for gifts this holiday season, with 35% planning to collect funds from friends and family via P2P platforms.
2016 will be the biggest year yet for charitable giving, and “on-the-go” giving will skyrocket.
Last year, PayPal users helped set the GUINNESS WORLD RECORD'S title for, “Most money raised online for charity in 24-hours” raising $45.8 million for charities on #GivingTuesday, more than doubling the previous record.
We believe this year will be even bigger, and are happy to report that the majority of Americans (62%) plan to make a charitable donation this holiday season.
Helping the cause will be a continuation of the steady growth we’ve seen in mobile donations. Following the launch of
in-app donations in the PayPal app earlier this year, PayPal predicts a 45% increase in donations made via mobile on #GivingTuesday alone this year.[7]
Young Boomers will be the most generous consumers this holiday season, with plans to make the largest donations on average ($416), but the generosity of Millennials will edge out Gen X, giving $245 and $230 on average, respectively.
Be it a surprise for a loved one or a donation to a worthy cause, PayPal makes it easy to give some goodwill whether it’s on a charity site or by making a donation in the PayPal app.
We’re excited about the holiday season ahead and can’t wait to hear about all the fun ways our consumers will spend, send and give this year!
[1] As reported in Q3 PayPal Earnings, October 20, 2016.
[2] Based on the average number of global mobile transactions we have seen on our platform on 2013, 2014 and 2015.
[3] Based on the 2015 average for the peak hour of Cyber Monday.
[4] Based on the average number of global transactions we have seen on our platform from 2014 vs. 2015.
[5] Based on the average number of global transactions (Venmo + PayPal) we have seen on our platform in December for 2013, 2014 and 2015.
[6] Based on percent of gift box emoji payments and Venmo year over year forecasts.
[7] Based on the percent increase for 2013, 2014 and 2015.