Happy Holidays To Me, Love, Gen “mY” (NAPSA)—Anew poll finds that a number of younger adults may have a familiar name on their gift list this year: their own. Call it self-gifting. It’s happening among Generation “mY”— adults ages 18 to 34 with a reputation for doing things a little differently than their older counterparts. Thirty-two percent of Gen mYers plan to buy themselves a present this season. That number falls to 20 percent for adults ages 45 to 54. Of course, Gen mYers don’t just holiday shop for themselves. The study conducted by Harris Interactive, and commissioned by Gap Inc., found people in that age group have no problem with the holiday spirit. In fact, 93 percent of adults (a group that includes Gen mYers) plan to buy gifts for someoneelse this season. Still, 9 percent of Gen mYers do not plan to buy any gifts, a number three times as high as the percentage of 35- to 44-year-olds not buying gifts. Additionally: * Gen mYers are half as likely to enjoy buying gifts for their brothers as they are for their sisters (6 percent sisters versus 3 percent brothers). * Only 18 percent of Gen mYers plan to buy for co-workers versus 28 percent of 35- to 44year-olds. * Only 9 percent of Gen mYers plan to buy for bosses. So what influences Gen mYers The Age Of Gift Giving? 32 percentof Gen mYers plan to self-gift this season. 18 percent of Gen mYers will buy gifts for co-workers this year. 25 percentof Gen mYers will buy gifts for their pets. 9 percent of Gen mYers will not buy any gifts this year. @ shopping decisions? Experience. “Generation mY has grown up online and knows how to take advantage of the perks to online shopping,” said Will Hunsinger, General Manager of Gap.com. “By leveraging features like exclusive discounts and simplified return policies, Gen mY can maximize their time and budget to splurge a little more on themselves.” Indeed, about 71 percent of all adults said they'd shop online this year, with 67 percent of Gen mYersciting the ability to comparison shop and 84 percentciting the ability to shop anytime as key benefits. Given these findings, Gen mYers will most likely be visiting Web sites like those of the largest online apparel retailer Gap Ine.— Gap.com, BananaRepublic.com, OldNavy.com and Piperlime.com, which are designed to meet a wide variety of online shopping needs and habits.
