Wedding
2023 Wedding Season Data Report
Welcome to wedding season
With wedding season officially upon us, Rakuten explored how this affects wedding guests. It comes to no surprise that wedding season is a significant financial stressor for Americans. But, many women actually find it even more financially stressful than the holiday season (even when they are not part of the wedding party)! According to Rakuten’s new survey conducted in partnership with The Harris Poll, here’s how guests are planning to afford the weddings they will attend the rest of the year, and how they’re shopping for wedding gifts without breaking the bank.
Key takeaways from the study
Among women planning on attending a wedding this year:
- Stress Season: Nearly half (44%) of Gen Z women find wedding season more stressful than the holidays. 33% of millennials agree.
- Draining Savings: One in five (20%) women use their savings to pay for wedding gifts and accommodations
- Something on the Side: More than half (59%) of Gen Z women would get a temporary job or side gig to afford attending a wedding due to cost. 39% of millennial women agree.
- No Way-cation: More than half (52%) of Gen Z women and 27% millennial women are skipping a vacation due to the cost of being a wedding guest.
Wedding gifts by the numbers
As the leading shopping destination for saving with Cash Back and rewards, Rakuten explored emerging trends in how guests are shopping for wedding gifts if they’re on a budget.
Among women planning on attending a wedding this year:
- Splitting the Bill: More than half (60%) of Gen Z and 40% of millennial women are opting to contribute to a group gift due to inflation/high costs.
- It’s the Thought that Counts: More than half (60%) of Gen Z women and 59% of millennial women prefer to purchase non-registry gifts if they come at a better cost.
- Gifting, Not Going: Half of (50%) of Gen Z women will send a gift instead of travelling to attend a wedding because of high costs involved.
- WeddingTok Tips: 42% of women across different age groups find TikTok and other social media platforms to be valuable sources for tips on making wedding season more affordable.
Cash Back savings all season
Rakuten members can take the pressure off of wedding season by getting Cash Back on the outfit and shoes, accessories, travel and accommodations, and everything else they need to celebrate your friends and loved ones.
For any upcoming weddings, members can stack Cash Back rewards from Rakuten on top of any sales or promotions at the stores they already shop, and ensure they’re scoring the greatest savings across the categories driving the highest costs for wedding guests – travel, gifts and apparel, including:
TRAVEL:
- Expedia
- com
- Orbitz
- Vrbo
GIFTS:
- Bloomingdales
- Macy’s
- Sur La Table
- Target
APPAREL:
- Asos
- Nordstrom
- Rent the Runway
- Shopbop
Methodology
The research was conducted online in the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Rakuten among females adults ages 18 – 64. The survey was conducted between June 08 – 16, 2023.
Data are weighted where necessary by age, race/ethnicity, region, education, marital status, household size, household income, employment status and propensity to be online to bring them in line with their actual proportions in the population.
Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in our surveys. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within ±4.4 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. This credible interval will be wider among subsets of the surveyed population of interest.
All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to other multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including, but not limited to coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments.
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