Dude, you're getting a PC! More shoppers than ever buying laptops and desktops as gifts, report predicts

A lot of people will be unwrapping new laptops and desktops this December, according to a holiday shopping white paper from the CTA (Consumer Technology Association). The just-released report, entitled 2024 Consumer Technology Holiday Purchase Patterns, states that 51 percent of consumers surveyed intend to buy a laptop as a gift this year, along with 35 percent who intend to purchase a “desktop / personal computer (PC).” Both numbers are all-time highs and are up 8 to 9 percent over last year. Laptops were also the most-desired gift to receive.

Overall, 78 percent of survey respondents said that they intend to buy computer hardware of some kind as a gift this holiday season, while 89 percent plan to buy tech gifts (including non-computer tech), the highest rate ever by 8 points, with data going back to 2007. This year, thirty-five percent said that they would spend more on buying tech gifts in 2024 than they in 2023, while only 20 percent stated that they intend to spend less.

“A lot of the buzz around AI PCs, maybe that’s a little bit behind that,” Steve Koenig, CTA VP of Research, said when I asked him why the intent to buy laptops has grown over 2023, when it was at 42 percent. “It could also be part of the upgrade cycle. A lot of people got new laptops at the headwaters of the health crisis and here we are four years later and maybe people are thinking it’s time to upgrade.”

To create the report, the CTA surveyed 1,205 U.S. adults online from August 27th to September 4th, 2024. The company has run similar surveys for many years and provides comparative data going back to 2022.

In addition to laptops and desktops, the CTA asked about intent to purchase in several other computer hardware categories, including tablets (55 percent), Wi-Fi mesh routers (31 percent), and Standalone webcams (26 percent). Every category was up 5 to 13 percent from last year. It’s surprising that a full 35 percent of people plan to buy multifunction printers as gifts.

Perhaps because they are usually cheaper than laptops, tablets are the computer hardware consumers are most likely to buy as a gift, with laptops pulling in second. However, laptops were hotter than tablets when survey respondents were asked what they wanted others to buy for them. Smartphones, wearables and gaming consoles rounded out the top five most-wanted tech presents with TVs sliding into position six.

Interestingly, when asked what they plan to give as gifts (including all tech categories, not just computer hardware), laptops were 10th on the list. The biggest tech gift categories were wireless headphones, portable chargers, phone / tablet cases and wireless charging docks. Considering that these are all cheaper than a tablet or laptop, it makes sense that they would appear higher on the list.

When broken into categories, the top tech gift types are phones / mobile accessories (83 percent), audio devices (80 percent), computer hardware (78 percent) and smart home. Seventy-two percent of respondents plan to buy their giftees access to a subscription service of some kind, with 55 percent planning to buy gift cards to video subscription services such as Netflix.

Who are people buying these electronic gifts for? According to the CTA report, 40 percent of respondents are buying tech gifts for children under 18. Thirty-six percent are shopping for spouses and 28 percent are buying for other adults. Only 15 percent are buying for their parents, a drop of 4 percent since last year. Also, 29 percent of respondents are honest and self-aware since they admitted that they will be buying tech gifts for themselves this holiday season.

Don’t start looking in your relatives’ closet – or wherever they hide the gifts – even now, because they may have already bought your tech present. Though they plan to do more of their holiday shopping in November and December, a full 41 percent of respondents this year – the highest percentage ever – said that they will begin the process in October. And, if you like surprises, don’t look over your family members’ shoulders on Thanksgiving as 39 percent of respondents said that they will shop online during the holiday and 47 percent will at least look at ads.

“Retailers have always been trying to pull forward spending and capture more dollars. And we know how Black Friday went from a day to a week to it's Black November,” Koenig said. “I think that just the gravity of Amazon and just online shopping in general; that's really solidified the notion of starting a little bit earlier.” However, Koenig also noted that people are still “anchoring” the majority of their holiday shopping to Thanksgiving / Black Friday week.

One surprising number from the survey: respondents say that they plan to do 51 percent of their tech shopping at brick and mortar stores and 49 percent online. We would have thought that people are doing more than half of their tech shopping online, but it’s important to remember that these survey numbers measure the respondents’ intent and where they actually spend money could end up being far different.

When consumers are looking for a retailer to buy from, pricing is the top factor, followed by ease of making a purchase, availability of preferred brands and flexible return policy. All of those numbers are within three percent of where they were last year and the year before.

To get more numbers, including what smart home, mobile, audio, subscription services and lifestyle products respondents intend to buy, check out CTA’s full report. It’s available for free to CTA members or $999 for non-members.