Nearly 6 in 10 plan to shop for themselves this holiday season

The day I learned to gift myself, to bastardize Whitney Houston, was the greatest gift of all. That seems to be the spirit of this holiday season, when consumers are planning to self-gift with gusto.

Nearly 6 in 10 US consumers (57%) plan on shopping for themselves this holiday season, according to a recent holiday shopping report from KPMG, an audit, tax, and advisory firm. While that’s the identical share as last year, this season self-gifters plan to spend more, an average of $354, up 18% over last year.

Melissa Minkow, global director of retail strategy and insights at CI&T, said part of what’s driving self-gifting is a financial climate where holiday discounts are more attractive because prices could go up due to inflation.

“We see a deal, we’re going to take advantage of it right now because we still keep thinking the bubble is going to burst and everything’s going to get insanely expensive,” Minkow told Retail Brew. Thanks to both inflation and the price hikes during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, “we have this hoarder mentality with discounts,” she said.

In its holiday shopping survey, Deloitte found those planning or considering self-gifting expect to spend $299 on themselves this season, up 13% from 2025 and 20% from 2024. Men are far more generous—with themselves: They expect to spend an average $355 self-gifting this season compared to $245 for women.

Among self-gifters this season, the only ones on their list they’ll spend more on per recipient are their own children or spouses/partners, according to a holiday retail survey from EY-Parthenon. Among those they’ll spend less on: parents/in-laws, extended family, and friends.