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Whether shoppers are looking to spread out their purchases or seeking the best deals, retailers are ready to help consumers with all their shopping needs this holiday.

NRF Vice President of Industry and Consumer Insights Katherine Cullen

WASHINGTON - As a record number of people (183.4 million) are expected to shop during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, a new survey from the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics reveals the most popular toys and gifts consumers plan to purchase this holiday season.

"The holiday season is in full swing and while many consumers have made progress on their shopping lists, most shoppers will make the majority of their purchases over the coming weeks," NRF Vice President of Industry and Consumer Insights Katherine Cullen said. "Whether shoppers are looking to spread out their purchases or seeking the best deals, retailers are ready to help consumers with all their shopping needs this holiday."

NRF forecast earlier this month that holiday spending is expected to reach record levels during November and December and will grow between 2.5% and 3.5%, totaling $979.5 billion to $989 billion.

The most popular gift categories this season include clothing (54%), followed by gift cards (44%), toys (36%), books, video games and other media (31%) and food/candy (30%).

The internet remains the most popular source for gift ideas, with 44% of shoppers using online search for inspiration. Other top sources include friends and family (36%), in store (30%) and wish lists (26%).

"Younger shoppers continue to embrace social media for gift ideas, with those between the ages of 18-24 more likely to find inspiration through platforms such as TikTok (28%) and Instagram (27%)," Prosper Insights & Analytics Executive Vice President of Strategy Phil Rist said. "These shoppers are also more likely than any other age group to purchase jewelry, with 30% planning to gift these items."

For adults shopping for children this year, the top five toys for boys include Legos, Hot Wheels, cars, video games and PlayStation. For girls, the top five toys include Barbie, dolls, Legos, makeup/beauty and Disney items. TV shows and movies continue to influence top toys, with characters such as Spider-Man and Barbie remaining popular among children, along with Disney items returning to the top five toys for girls.

The survey also found that most shoppers will embrace the spirit of giving back this holiday season, with two-thirds (66%) planning to engage in at least one charitable activity such as donating money or items this season.

As with recent years, gift cards remain a popular holiday purchase and overall spending is expected to reach $28.6 billion compared with $29.3 billion last year. Similar to previous years, the average shopper will purchase three to four gift cards and spend $51.18 per gift card ($170.48 per person).

Restaurants are the most popular gift card category (30%), followed by department stores (25%), bank-issued gift cards (25%) and coffee shops (22%).

An earlier NRF survey found that holiday shoppers are expected to spend a record $902 per person on average across gifts, decorations, food and other key seasonal items. Of the amount shoppers plan to spend, approximately $641 is on gifts for family, friends, co-workers and more.

Forty-four percent of consumers plan on using debit for their holiday purchases, compared with 39% who plan to use credit cards. A total of 57% of shoppers plan on using at least one digital wallet or app while shopping, with the top three payment methods including PayPal (30%), Apple Pay (15%) and Cash App (14%).

The survey asked 8,135 adult consumers about their holiday shopping purchases. It was conducted Nov. 1-7 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.1 percentage points.

As the leading authority and voice for the retail industry, NRF provides data on consumer behavior and spending for key periods such as holidays throughout the year.

About NRF
The National Retail Federation passionately advocates for the people, brands, policies and ideas that help retail succeed. From its headquarters in Washington, D.C., NRF empowers the industry that powers the economy. Retail is the nation's largest private-sector employer, contributing $5.3 trillion to annual GDP and supporting more than one in four U.S. jobs - 55 million working Americans. For over a century, NRF has been a voice for every retailer and every retail job, educating, inspiring and communicating the powerful impact retail has on local communities and global economies. nrf.com

About Prosper Insights & Analytics
Prosper Insights & Analytics is a global leader in consumer intent data serving the financial services, marketing technology, and retail industries. We provide global authoritative market information on U.S. and China consumers via curated insights and analytics. By integrating a variety of data including economic, behavioral and attitudinal data, Prosper helps companies accurately predict consumers' future behavior to help identify market behaviors, optimize marketing efforts, and improve the effectiveness of demand generation campaigns. https://prosperinsights.com/

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TULSA, Okla. - How does a novelty song become a beloved Christmas classic? It all began with a 10-year-old girl from Oklahoma City.

Gayla Peevey grew up as a child star with people amazed by her talent, especially in her hometown of OKC. Columbia Records noticed her in 1953 and offered her the chance to sing children's songs.

The first song given to Peevey was all about receiving a hippopotamus for Christmas. She loved the song and so did everyone else.

The novelty song became the hit of the holiday season that year. It peaked at spot 24 on the pop Billboard charts and Peevey even performed the song on the Ed Sullivan Show.

The song was so popular at the time, that the local newspaper and the Oklahoma City Zoo became inspired. The OKC Zoo did not have a hippopotamus and started a campaign based on Peevey's song to get one.

The statewide campaign was centered around getting Peevey an actual hippopotamus for Christmas. The local newspaper had spaces where people could donate their dimes or quarters to the fund to be sent in.

The campaign was incredibly successful and Peevey indeed got her hippopotamus for Christmas. Mathilda, a baby hippo, was given to Peevey and then donated to the OKC Zoo.

Decades later, the song has become a holiday classic in its own right. Peevey would later welcome her second hippopotamus in 2017 when the OKC Zoo acquired a pygmy hippo.

Since then, Peevey has promoted the conservation of hippopotamuses and spoken at zoos on their behalf.

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