Image by Alexandra Koch from Pixabay
- This means Arizona’s re-gifting economy is worth a staggering $324 million.
- High cost of living cited as the main reason to sell gifts received.
One of the best things about Christmas, especially when you’re a child, is receiving gifts. Particularly when you’ve carefully crafted a list for Santa beforehand, detailing exactly what you would want! Now, Santa doesn’t always deliver to the letter, but by and large, you grow up getting what you asked for. However, that doesn’t always happen, and it’s more and more likely the older you get. Even if the gifter means well, the end result can be the desire to give it away to someone else, as soon as possible (or — if it’s worth a dollar or three — to sell it instead). Indeed, even if inflation has cooled recently, prices have remained stubbornly high in 2024, offering the average American a financial incentive to re-gift or resell an unwanted gift — known as the ‘re-gifting economy.’
To figure out the value of America’s re-gifting economy, BadCredit.org surveyed 3,000 people to estimate the value of America’s regifting economy*. It turns out it’s pretty significant: the re-gifting economy is worth a staggering $11 billion for the whole country, with 43% of Americans (over 110 million people) admitting to re-gifting or reselling unwanted presents. California generates the biggest re-gifting economy, at $1,377,846,471.
Arizona’s re-gifting economy also turns out to be substantial – when interviewed, 54% of Arizonans say they plan on profiting from gifts received this festive season, equating to 3,108,240 re-gifters in the state. This means that Arizona’s re-gifting/reselling economy is worth $324,811,122!
When ranked proportionally by population, the data reveals Rhode Islanders as the nation’s top re-gifters, whereby 83% say they plan to move on unwanted Christmas gifts this year. They were followed by Nevadans (59%) and New Yorkers (56%).
The top 10 re-gifting states (by percentage of re-gifters and size of re-gifting economy) are:
1. Rhode Island (83%; $74,443,219)
2. Nevada (59%; $154,587,138)
3. New York (56%; $886,249,898)
4. Arizona (54%; $324,811,122)
5. Utah (53%; $147,483,264)
6. Louisiana (52%; $192,416,145)
7. Maryland (52; $259,508,823)
8. Massachusetts (51%; $291,977,877)
9. Wyoming (50%; $23,803,243)
10. Georgia (45%; $407,946,082)
Infographic showing the size of the re-gifting economy in each state
The survey also found that 71% know immediately when opening a gift that they will never, ever use or wear it. Interestingly, 38% of Arizonans think it is morally wrong to sell or re-gift a present they’ve received. And nearly half have felt regret or guilt after re-gifting or reselling a present – maybe it was from someone special, and they felt they were defrauding them somehow.
The survey also revealed that an unfortunate 48% have been caught re-gifting or selling a present… awkward!
“Re-gifting or reselling has become a smart financial strategy for budget-conscious consumers this holiday season,” says Jon McDonald, senior editor at BadCredit.org. “As Americans navigate economic challenges, re-gifting has shed its previous stigma and gained mainstream acceptance. What was once considered taboo is now a resourceful way to manage holiday expenses while ensuring gifts find appreciative new homes.”
Methodology
BadCredit.org calculated the percentage planning to regift or resell, applied it to the total adult population, and multiplied it by the average gift spend of $104.50 per person.
