New data has revealed the states spending the most money online at Christmas.  

The study, conducted by financial publisher The Lazy Trader, combined online search data from December 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022. The average monthly search volumes – for terms such as ‘Christmas gifts for women’ and ‘Christmas gifts for dad’ – were considered per 100,000 people to determine the states most likely to spend the most money online this December.  

The state most likely to shop online this holiday season is New Jersey. Over the last four years in December, New Jersey has been searching for gift-related terms an average of 1,688 times per 100,000 people. ‘Christmas gift ideas’ is the most searched-for term in the state, with 3,764 average monthly searches in total from residents.   

Massachusetts takes the silver medal. In the state, there were 1,633 average monthly searches for gift-related ideas per 100,000 people over the last four Decembers. Behind ‘Christmas gift ideas’, ‘Christmas stockings’ is the most searched-for term, with a total of 2,647 average monthly searches.    

New York is the third state most likely to overspend this Christmas. In the last four Decembers, there were 1,591 average monthly searches for gift-related terms per 100,000 people. The Empire State’s second most popular term is ‘Christmas gift’, with 7,275 average monthly searches behind ‘Christmas gift ideas’ and ahead of ‘Christmas stockings’. 

In fourth place is Connecticut, with 1,538 average monthly searches for gift-related ideas per 100,000 people according to data collected over the last four Decembers. ‘Christmas gift for mom’ is the fourth most searched-for term, with 974 average monthly searches in total, following on from ‘Christmas gift ideas’, ‘Christmas gifts’, and ‘Christmas stockings’.   

Virginia is the fifth state most likely to overspend this Christmas. In Virginia, there are 1,492 average monthly searches for gift-related terms per 100,000 people over the last four Decembers. ‘Secret Santa’ is the fifth most popular term, with 1,817 average monthly searches in total after ‘Christmas gift ideas’, ‘Christmas stockings’, ‘Christmas gifts, and ‘Christmas gifts for mom’.   

Texas ranks sixth, with 1,473 average monthly searches per 100,000 people for gift-related terms over the last four Decembers. The Lone Star State is searching for ‘Christmas gifts for men’ 5,089 times per festive season; this is the sixth most popular term ahead of ‘Christmas stockings’, ‘Christmas gift ideas’, ‘Christmas gifts’, ‘Secret Santa’, and ‘Christmas gifts for mom’.   

Illinois is the seventh state most likely to spend money online during the holidays. Over the last four Decembers, Illinois had 1,454 average monthly searches for gift-related terms per 100,000 people.      

Pennsylvania ranks eighth with 1,437 average monthly searches per 100,000 people, followed by Maryland in ninth place, with 1,419 average monthly searches per 100,000 people. Georgia is the tenth state the most likely to shop online over the holidays, with 1,417 average monthly searches per 100,000 people.   

Robert Colville from The Lazy Trader commented on the study: “On average, Americans expect to spend $1,000 during the festive season, with 71% accounting for gift purchases, proving that Christmas is indeed the season for giving. This research highlights the states expected to spend the most during the festive season; New Jersey takes the crown with the highest average monthly search volume over the last four years in December.” 

“Additionally, it is interesting to discover that the top five states most likely to overspend online are situated on the East Coast. This suggests that these states, which are known to experience quintessentially “white winter” weather, are more eager to spend money shopping online, possibly to avoid the snow and frost.”