36% Will Purchase or Gift Web/Digital Services This Holiday Season

HostingAdvice survey reports 46% of American consumers have taken issue with how early retailers started their online holiday shopping events this year.

Unlike previous years, thousands of Cyber Monday deals leaked early, much to the chagrin of nearly half of the American public already peeved with early retailer advertising on Black Friday deals. A new study from HostingAdvice found that almost half (46%) of those surveyed said they are bothered by how early retailers are starting their online holiday shopping events this year.

There’s a subtle changing of the tide when it comes to the kinds of gifts that may be under the tree this year. The survey revealed that more than one-third of Americans (36%) are planning to purchase web and digital services or subscriptions vs. a physical present as a holiday gift this year.

Gifting web and digital services or subscriptions significantly increases for males (47%) and decreases for females (26%), while more than half of Gen Z (50%) and millennials (56%) surveyed said they plan on gifting web and digital services or subscriptions this year.

The survey also found that 34% of Americans said they prefer to receive web and digital services or subscriptions vs. a physical present as a holiday gift this year. Just like gifting, more males ( 45%) said they would prefer getting web and digital services or subscriptions as holiday gifts this year vs. females (23%). The same can be said for Gen Z (44%) and millennials (52%) who said they were in favor of receiving an eGift of sorts.

While nearly half of those surveyed appear to be somewhat distressed about the early holiday sales, Cyber Week changes all of that. Following the traditional Black Friday blitzkrieg, holiday discounts, and deals will change hourly after retailers assess inventory. That includes during peak Cyber Monday shopping when some of the best deals on eGift solutions go live.

HostingAdvice.com has hand-picked these 11 websites for gift-seekers looking to find the best web and digital services or subscription deals during Cyber Week 2023.

1. Airbnb – Gift Card
2. Amazon Prime Video – Membership
3. Apple TV+ – Subscription
4. GoldStar Costco – Membership
5. Headspace – Subscription
6. Hulu Live w/ Disney+ and ESPN+ – Subscription
7. MasterClass – Subscription
8. Netflix – Subscription
9. Paramount Plus – Subscription
10. In Good Taste Curated Flights of Wine – Subscription
11. Craft Beer of the Month Club – Subscription

Consumers are growing more accustomed to the idea of digital services in lieu of physical items for holiday gifts. To our surprise, Gen Z is not the age group that enjoys gifting and receiving digital gifts the most. Our survey data revealed that older millennials and Gen X, ages 35 to 44 enjoy gifting and receiving these types of gifts the most.

The growing popularity of purchasing digital gifts and subscriptions means hackers have more opportunities to steal your personal and financial information. To protect yourself online, follow these best practices:

1. Only purchase from websites that use HTTPS encryption.
2. Avoid falling for email phishing attempts claiming to represent online retailers.
3. Make purchases at home on your personal wifi or with a VPN in public spaces.
4. Don’t reuse passwords across banking, money-sharing, or retail websites.

Online shopping offers more convenience than the traditional retail experience, but it’s important to shop smart to maintain your privacy and security. By following these tips, you can cross items off your list without sacrificing your security.

A national online survey of 1,036 U.S. consumers, ages 18 and over, was conducted by Propeller Insights on behalf of HostingAdvice in October 2023. Survey responses were nationally representative of the U.S. population for age, gender, region, and ethnicity. The maximum margin of sampling error was +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.