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Adventure The Gift of Holiday Gift Suggestions for Active Consumers G ift buying trends are anyone’s guess this year, but it’d be foolish to not expect 2020 to end with some surpris- ing curve balls. For starters, many expect back- to-school purchases to creep into holiday shopping. Lots of kids will just be going back to physical class- rooms before or after the holidays, so purchases of items such as clothing, backpacks, lunch boxes and even tra- ditional classroom supplies that were put off in August and September could end up under a tree or on a sugges- tion list for an aunt or uncle. Along with kid-specific apparel, clothing in general could be more important to gift giving than in an aver- age year. Outside of travel and airline flights, clothing was the top delayed purchase among U.S. shoppers sur- veyed by GWI in July, and apparel was also respondents’ top priority for when spending on large purchases returned. Gen Z, millennials and female re- spondents, in particular, said they’ve delayed purchasing clothes as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. Among shoppers surveyed by rewards app Shopkick, the 25 percent who plan to spend most of their budget on clothes beat out the top category for 2019: electronics toys and video games, in which 21 percent plan to spend most of their holiday budgets. This also could be a big year for big ticket items. With the chance that in-person gift exchanges will be less important to those celebrating largely virtually, it’s not inconceivable to think those family members and friend groups will combine on larger items in lieu of presenting individual presents. One large item also could mean paying fewer holiday shipping surcharges than sending several items for delivery. And don’t forget to offer gift sug- gestions for self-gifters. During dif- ficult times, people often will turn to pampering themselves as a way to stay positive. It’s something we witnessed during the 2008 recession and is repeating in countries that are further along their pandemic curve, where sales of personal care and cosmetic products recently skyrock- eting. Compound this phenomenon with pent-up demand resulting from months of delayed purchasing, and self-gifting could be the story of holi- day 2020. But whether it’s a loved one on the list, or a little bit of “treat your- self,” the following gift ideas are sure to resonate with all sorts of active consumers. Inside Outdoor | FALL 2020 24