Jingle Sells: Over 1.2 Million Kentuckians Prepared to Re-Gift Their Christmas Presents, Survey Finds.

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 regift or resell an unwanted gift — known as the ‘regifting economy.’
 
To figure out the value of America’s regifting economy, BadCredit.org surveyed 3,000 people to estimate the value of America’s regifting economy*. It turns out it’s pretty significant: the regifting economy is worth a staggering $11 billion for the whole country, with 43% of Americans (over 110 million people) admitting to regifting or reselling unwanted presents. California generates the biggest regifting economy, at $1,377,846,471.

Kentucky's regifting economy also turns out to be substantial - when interviewed, 34% of Kentuckians say they plan on profiting from gifts received this festive season, equating to 1,215,384 regifters in the state. This means that Kentucky's regifting/reselling economy is worth $127,007,591!

When ranked proportionally by population, the data reveals Rhode Islanders as the nation’s top regifters, 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 regifting states (by percentage of regifters and size of regifting 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 Kentuckians think it is morally wrong to sell or regift a present they’ve received. And nearly half have felt regret or guilt after regifting 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 regifting or selling a present… awkward!
 
“Regifting 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, regifting 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. 

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