• by Stephanie Kaplan Lewis , Columnist, December 20, 2016

Asking for an iPad for Christmas is so 2010.  This year's trailing millennials have their sights set on looking stylish AF—and with a padded wallet to boot. When it comes time to hit the malls (or the cyberworld) to gift that female millennial on your list, what’s a yay and what’s a nay? You don’t want your gift to turn into a re-gift.

We surveyed hundreds of trailing millennial women age 18 - 24 to find out which items top their holiday wishlists this year, inquiring about tech, fashion and beauty, experiences, and more.

Clothing takes the number one spot on these women’s wishlists this year, with three out of four trailing millennial women reporting it made it onto their lists. These consumers love fast fashion, but they also look to the holidays as a time to secure those couple high-value items they’ve been coveting from favorite aspirational brands like Rebecca Minkoff, Topshop, and Juicy Couture.

Cash is the next most popular request, which isn’t surprising—this generation loves to have expendable income to spend on picks like lattes, burritos, or drinks with friends (#treatyourself). Gift Cards and Makeup/Beauty Products essentially tie for the third spot, showing up on over 50% of these 18-24-year-old women's wishlists.

When it comes to gift cards, these women cherish a gift card as an excuse to go on a shopping spree at places like Forever 21 and H&M, or to indulge their daily Starbucks habit for the foreseeable future. Makeup and beauty products are huge with this generation that connects with the importance of #selfcare and spends their nights watching makeup tutorial after makeup tutorial from this year’s hottest vloggers. The most coveted makeup item would be a Kylie lip kit if you can manage to get your hands on one.

Other coveted items by this demographic this holiday season include Shoes (who doesn’t need another pair of UGGs this time of year?), Trip/Travel (spring break, anyone?), Workout Clothes, and Jewelry respectively.  With this data it looks like the athleisure trend is here to stay, as these women would rather work out (or at least look like they’re working out) than get blinged out. Gone are the days of getting her that special bracelet for the holidays; these days, she’d rather have the newest strappy workout tank from lululemon and a few new pairs of leggings.  

Though there's no denying these women love their material possessions, Books were another popular request on holiday wishlists this year—good to see these ladies have their priorities straight. With so many female celebrities and comedians authoring their own advice books these days, these women will have no shortage of reading lists to satisfy even the most ambitious of New Year’s resolutions.

Not so hot this year? New Phone, New Computer, and in last place (sorry, Apple), the Tablet Device. These women are already tech-ed out, so go figure. These tech essentials have become such necessities that these women can no longer afford to wait until the holidays to gear up—they need them when they need them.

If you have a trailing millennial woman in your life, arm yourself with this data and get shopping.