It’s All About the Experience

It seems that Americans are getting sick of mere presents, and now want to be given an experience as a special gift. If any of your holiday gift recipients seemed a little ungrateful this year, this is why.

According to a survey from IfOnly, a marketplace for unique experiences, 95 million Americans would prefer to receive an experience from a loved one over nearly all forms of holiday presents, including gift certificates.

Highlights from the survey:

67 percent of respondents preferred an experience over a traditional gift certificate this holiday.
81 percent of respondents believed experiences would be more memorable than any other kind of gift.
Two-thirds of Americans (67 percent) admitted they would feel more thankful for receiving an experience than a physical present.
Nearly half of Americans in relationships (47 percent) would be more likely to have sex with a significant other if they received an experience instead of a material gift.
Almost half (46 percent) of Americans would give up an hour of sleep each night for the entire holiday season to receive an amazing experience instead of a gift certificate; one third (37 percent) would give up sex for a week; and 29 percent would give up their cell phones for a week.
75 percent of Millennials would do anything in exchange for an incredible experience.

And what are some of the experiences people long for:

Go on a helicopter tour (39 percent)
Go on a private tour of a museum (32 percent)
Pet a panda at the zoo (27 percent)

The only drag in getting an experience for Christmas: it can be hard to re-gift. Find out more at www.ifonly.com.