Cash Is King For Christmas

While so-called "shopping holidays" like Cyber Monday and Black Friday have become synonymous with sales at big online retailers like Amazon (AMZN) and are mostly focused on consumer electronics, a majority of these products don't even make the top 8 when it comes to this year's Christmas gift preferences.

As Florian Zandt shows in the chart below, based on data from Statista's Global Consumer Survey shows, festive classics still dominate the ranking this year.

You will find more infographics at Statista.

For example, a third of U.S. respondents plan to give the gift of cold, hard cash or clothing items like the often ridiculed socks or ties, while 36% are looking to dole out vouchers or gift cards for Christmas.

These three categories also dominate the preferences of the people potentially receiving gifts, with 39% answering they'd like to get some money to spend however they like.

The first electronics items on the list are smartphones and tablets, with 15% of respondents planning to gift them while 22% are hoping to receive them. Participants favoring a one-way connection to the written word either on paper or via screen account for about 15%, on the gifting as well as on the receiving side.