As you read this we stand on the cusp of the launch party for the yearly orgy known as the Holiday Shopping Season. This year will likely be more frantic than usual: due to an anomaly of the calendar, the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas will be a full six days shorter this year than in 2018. Indeed, we haven't had a Thanksgiving occur this late into November since 2013. So forget good cheer and fellowship: the only thing more divisive than impeachment will be who gets the last Sparkle Princess Elsa doll left on the shelf.
Not to worry, there is plenty of other loot that is begging to be bought. There are the practical things, like crossbody handbags, flannel pajamas and barbeque tools. There are the items of questionable utility, such as an agate cheese board, a reusable straw and a self-rolling yoga mat. And there are those aimed at those with very particular interests, like a Harry Potter advent calendar, a custom silk-screened cat pillow or a beauty products mini refrigerator. (Your exfoliating cream will be so much more refreshing when it's cool, or so they say.)
As always every year, there are the items which are new and unique, but which no one really wants. There's a water bottle with a crystal in it. Other than taking up space for additional liquid and adding weight, it does nothing to keep you hydrated. There are ankle scarves, designed to wrap around above your shoes and keep your joints warm, in case the thought of just wearing boots never comes up when it gets cold. And there are long distance touch bracelets, for you and your mate to don, so you can set the other's to vibrate when you want them to know you are thinking of them. Now you know what your dog feels when he accidentally crosses your invisible fence.
Not surprisingly, most people want none of this stuff. True, you might actually need a new pair of slippers, or your hair dryer is on its last legs. Perhaps ten years ago you would have toughed it out, then dropped generous hints come Thanksgiving that if Santa was looking for a good idea that yes, you could really use a new pair of black gloves. Now it's far more likely that if anything you own is really an issue, you punch up Amazon, find a replacement that does the trick, and it shows up in 37 minutes at your front door. No reindeer sleigh necessary.
Perhaps all that is why a recent survey says don't even try and find the perfect aroma candle. Early Warning Services, a fintech company owned by seven of the country's largest banks, just released the latest data from their October survey on the top gift for the coming season. And perhaps not surprisingly, it's not a physical thing at all, but cash. According to Ravi Loganathan, the company's Chief Data Officer, "For the second year in a row, our annual Holiday Survey found that people not only desire money as a gift, but are increasingly preferring it beyond physical gifts." Like almost everything else these days, Loganathan attributes this to our increasing use of technology and the internet: "Today's digital natives have a new understanding of what it means to give and receive."
Across all generations, money for personal spending is the number one gift when ranked against anything else: 35% of all respondents put receiving money for personal spending as the gift they'd rather receive this holiday season, followed by the gift of an experience (22%), money for an experience (17%) and money for bills (13%). Among younger people, the numbers are even higher: Gen Z'ers are most likely to appreciate money as a gift, with 66% of respondents stating they prefer it because it allows them to spend on whatever they want or need.
So put down that faux fur stocking cap. Cancel the order for the panini press. And return that weighed blanket. While you may have spent hours finding the perfect sponge holder and its ilk, most of that stuff will only get returned or regifted. Give them what they really want, which is not a replica Benjamin Franklin Kite and Key set, but actual Benjamins. It seems that for most, the best bottom line is really the bottom line.
-END-
Marc Wollin of Bedford wants no bills for the holidays. His column appears regularly in The Record-Review, The Scarsdale Inquirer and online at http://www.glancingaskance.blogspot.com/, as well as via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
Not to worry, there is plenty of other loot that is begging to be bought. There are the practical things, like crossbody handbags, flannel pajamas and barbeque tools. There are the items of questionable utility, such as an agate cheese board, a reusable straw and a self-rolling yoga mat. And there are those aimed at those with very particular interests, like a Harry Potter advent calendar, a custom silk-screened cat pillow or a beauty products mini refrigerator. (Your exfoliating cream will be so much more refreshing when it's cool, or so they say.)
As always every year, there are the items which are new and unique, but which no one really wants. There's a water bottle with a crystal in it. Other than taking up space for additional liquid and adding weight, it does nothing to keep you hydrated. There are ankle scarves, designed to wrap around above your shoes and keep your joints warm, in case the thought of just wearing boots never comes up when it gets cold. And there are long distance touch bracelets, for you and your mate to don, so you can set the other's to vibrate when you want them to know you are thinking of them. Now you know what your dog feels when he accidentally crosses your invisible fence.
Not surprisingly, most people want none of this stuff. True, you might actually need a new pair of slippers, or your hair dryer is on its last legs. Perhaps ten years ago you would have toughed it out, then dropped generous hints come Thanksgiving that if Santa was looking for a good idea that yes, you could really use a new pair of black gloves. Now it's far more likely that if anything you own is really an issue, you punch up Amazon, find a replacement that does the trick, and it shows up in 37 minutes at your front door. No reindeer sleigh necessary.
Perhaps all that is why a recent survey says don't even try and find the perfect aroma candle. Early Warning Services, a fintech company owned by seven of the country's largest banks, just released the latest data from their October survey on the top gift for the coming season. And perhaps not surprisingly, it's not a physical thing at all, but cash. According to Ravi Loganathan, the company's Chief Data Officer, "For the second year in a row, our annual Holiday Survey found that people not only desire money as a gift, but are increasingly preferring it beyond physical gifts." Like almost everything else these days, Loganathan attributes this to our increasing use of technology and the internet: "Today's digital natives have a new understanding of what it means to give and receive."
Across all generations, money for personal spending is the number one gift when ranked against anything else: 35% of all respondents put receiving money for personal spending as the gift they'd rather receive this holiday season, followed by the gift of an experience (22%), money for an experience (17%) and money for bills (13%). Among younger people, the numbers are even higher: Gen Z'ers are most likely to appreciate money as a gift, with 66% of respondents stating they prefer it because it allows them to spend on whatever they want or need.
So put down that faux fur stocking cap. Cancel the order for the panini press. And return that weighed blanket. While you may have spent hours finding the perfect sponge holder and its ilk, most of that stuff will only get returned or regifted. Give them what they really want, which is not a replica Benjamin Franklin Kite and Key set, but actual Benjamins. It seems that for most, the best bottom line is really the bottom line.
-END-
Marc Wollin of Bedford wants no bills for the holidays. His column appears regularly in The Record-Review, The Scarsdale Inquirer and online at http://www.glancingaskance.blogspot.com/, as well as via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
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