Millennials and holiday shopping

Simon, which owns malls around the country including SouthPark mall and Concord Mills mall, just released its 2014 Simon Holiday Shopping Behavior Survey. 

A lot of it focuses on Millennials (those who became adults around 2000). That group tends to like malls the most so Simon has renamed them Mallennials. 

The survey has some bad news for dads - they're the least favorite person to shop for. 

Here are the results: 

Mallennials

• 89 percent of millennials plan to shop at the mall this holiday season. 
• 80 percent of millennials reported they “sometimes have a real sense of accomplishment after holiday shopping at the mall.”
• 81 percent of millennials agree that a key benefit of shopping at the mall during the holidays is avoiding the risk of gifts not being delivered on time.
• Millennials are the most likely generation to volunteer time this holiday season with a charitable organization (25 percent say they volunteer, compared to 16 percent of Gen X, those born from 1965-1980). 

Sad dads

• “Dad” finished last (2 percent) when respondents were asked about “favorite person to shop for this holiday season."
• “Children” comfortably finished first at 40 percent.
• “Spouse/partner” earned a 24 percent share.
• “Extended family member/friend” earned 13 percent. 
• “Mother” finished fourth at 9 percent. 
• “Boyfriend/girlfriend” snagged 8 percent. 
• Even “someone else” garnered 3 percent of the votes. Sorry dads! 

Tech habits

• Many shoppers, including 76 percent of millennials and 72 percent of Gen X, indicate they have purchased a gift at a store’s mall location after browsing the retailer’s web site. 
• One-half of holiday shoppers (51 percent) plan to use their mobile devices while holiday shopping to compare prices.
• More than half of holiday shoppers (53 percent) like stores or malls with apps that can make shopping easier. 
• Two-thirds of millennials say they would post about a good holiday shopping experience on social media sites. 

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