Give Yourself A Holiday Gift
MIAMI (CBS4) - A new outfit, a little piece of jewelry. Why buy presents for other people when you can get a gift for yourself?
"When I shop, so I see something I like, I buy," this shopper told CBS4's Jorge Estevez.
Estevez asked him, "For yourself?"
"Of course," he replied.
Shoppers at Aventura mall have the right idea.
"You have more people shopping for themselves than shopping for anyone else," said this store manager.
"Really?" asked Estevez. "That doesn't seem right."
"I know," she replied.
But it is right, and it is part of a growing trend. Consumers seem to be all aboard the self-gifting train, mainly because experts say the economy is doing even better.
"It is going to be up 16% this year, consumers are going to spend $130 dollars on themselves, in order to get what they want for Christmas this year," explained Ken Perkins with Retail Metrics.
They even have a method to their shopping madness. Some "block out" when they self-gift.
"You snuck in some gifts for yourself." Estevez said to a shopper.
"Yes. Black Friday I shop for me," she confessed.
They also budget personal shopping.
"I always pad my list in case," said this shopper.
"You pad your list?" asked Estevez.
"In case there is something there," was her reply.
"For you?" asked Estevez.
"Yes."
Some shoppers try to lie about their self-gifting.
"I try to spend most of my money...I save for other people," said one customer.
Estevez pushed on. "Are you lieing about that?"
"No I am not," was the reply.
"So you don't shop for yourself?" he asked the shopper.
"If I do shop for myself it is one thing," the shopper insisted.
"So you did lie to me," Estevez exclaimed as they both laughed.
Others get caught red-handed.
"What's in the bag Bobbie? asked Estevez of a new customer.
"It's for my son, Abercrombie Aftershave. Oh, that's for me. It's a top. What? It was a cheap one though," insisted Bobbie.
Cheap or not, people feel they deserve to treat themselves.
"I think that it is a very good thing," said Dr. Charles Foster of the Chestnut Hill Institute. He thinks getting exactly what you want is ultimately more rewarding.
"The most satisfying gift is the one you've asked for, because it's what you know you want. Surprises we all say we want, we're, in fact, least happy with."
Self-gifting is something so popular even guys are doing it.
"All the time," said this male shopper.
"Really?" quizzed Estevez.
"Yeah! Who loves you better than you. That is what I am saying."
Who can argue with that shopping logic?
