SEB consumer survey: more and more people want experiences as Christmas gifts

55% of Estonians believe that attention and care are more important than Christmas gifts, and 41% prefer to find experiences in a gift bag, according to SEB's Christmas consumer survey. The desire to give and receive experiences has increased by 11% compared to last Christmas.

According to Anna-Liisa Villmann, Head of Sustainability Communications at SEB Baltics, experiences are given as gifts because the consumer culture does not provide long-term satisfaction. "Experiences are given significantly more than last year. While younger people in all Baltic countries especially want experiences as gifts, as they get older, attention and care are valued more than gifts," she added.

People with higher salaries, including top specialists, office workers and civil servants, are more likely to want experiences as Christmas gifts. People on parental leave and (students) are also the biggest supporters of experiences.

Based on ticket sales statistics, all age groups want experiences as gifts. “Although it is possible to make distinctions as to who prefers which experiences, interest in various events is actually very high throughout the year,” said Sven Nuutmann, Chairman of the Board of Piletilevi Group.

One-fifth prefers money or a gift card

SEB’s survey shows that 22% of Estonians want to receive money or a gift card as a gift. “Although money may seem like a less meaningful Christmas gift, it certainly reduces the purchase of unnecessary things - a person can buy what they really need themselves and gifts are not bought just for the sake of giving,” said Villmann.

According to the Chairman of the Board of Piletilevi, purchasing gift tickets is very popular, especially before and during Christmas. “Over 100,000 Piletilevi gift tickets are purchased as gifts during the year, 36% during the Christmas gift-buying period. Piletilevi's gift ticket offers a diverse selection of cultural experiences, allowing the recipient to choose from over 10,000 events during the year of validity,” said Nuutmann.

Compared to last year, more people prefer homemade or handmade gifts from local producers, and Estonians love to make their own gifts more than their Baltic neighbors. “Although people prefer to give and receive gifts for Christmas, the trend is that only 18% prefer gifts purchased from regular stores or shopping centers,” said Villmann.

"Often, a sustainable choice is not when the product in the gift bag has a smaller footprint or is left unpackaged, but when the product is not purchased as a gift," added SEB's Sustainability Communications Manager.

SEB's pre-Christmas shopping behavior survey was conducted in cooperation with the research company Norstat in late autumn 2024. 1,000 people aged 18-74 living in Estonia, 1,003 in Latvia and 1,000 in Lithuania participated in the survey.

Source: Anna Villmann, Head of Sustainability Communications at SEB Baltics