Most residents of Latvia – 70% – plan to spend up to 250 euros on gifts for this New Year’s holiday, the agency LETA was informed by "SEB bank", citing data from a conducted survey.
Among them, 23% of respondents plan to spend between 50 and 100 euros on gifts, 15% up to 50 euros, and the same percentage from 101 to 150 euros.
At the same time, 17% of residents are ready to spend from 151 to 250 euros, while another 13% plan to spend more than 250 euros. Meanwhile, 5% of respondents do not plan to spend anything on gifts at all, and among students, this figure reaches 31%.
Most often, gifts are purchased in the last two weeks before the holidays or during sales, such as during the "Black Friday" event that took place at the end of November.
The survey results show that young people tend to buy gifts at the last minute, while women are more active in using discounts. Overall, women plan to spend more on gifts than men. Also, among women, there are fewer who do not intend to buy gifts at all – 3% compared to 6% among men.
Financial literacy mentor Linda Shablinska notes that women purchase gifts in advance and take advantage of available discounts. The survey results also show that women are more likely than men to save for gifts – 36% of women and 29% of men. In general, one-third of residents create a special savings fund for the holidays.
When choosing gifts, preference is still given to items purchased in stores – clothing, household goods, and cosmetics (53%). Gift cards and cash hold stable positions, becoming an alternative to traditional gifts (17%). Sweets are also popular (20%), and more people prefer to give experiences – tickets, restaurant visits, and other leisure activities (23%).
Slightly more than a third of respondents always ask their loved ones what they would like to receive, while about half, mostly women, claim they usually know what their loved ones or friends would like to find under the tree. One in five gives what they would like to receive themselves. At the same time, 2% of respondents consult artificial intelligence tools when choosing a gift, and among young people, this figure is 5%.
Overall, the tradition of giving gifts remains unchanged – more than 85% of residents plan to delight their loved ones.
Almost half of the respondents, when asked what they would like to receive, indicated that the gift does not matter significantly, as attention and care are much more important.
The survey in December 2025 was conducted by "Norstat Latvija". It involved 1,000 respondents aged 18 to 74.
