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| State | Candidate | Delegates |
|---|---|---|
 Donald Trump | ||
Pennsylvania |  Joe Biden |
After years of saving, shoppers treat themselves
— -- In the recent holiday shopping frenzy, Doreen Foxwell picked up a Coach handbag, Margie Jordan purchased a laptop, a digital camera and a camcorder, and Samantha Martin bought boots, a cashmere throw blanket and an iPad 2.
Yet those purchases didn't help them cross anyone off their holiday gift-buying lists.
They each splurged on themselves.
After years of scrimping, saving and self-sacrifice, consumers are treating themselves to everything from fragrances to flat-screen TVs this holiday shopping season.
"I'm out there buying for everyone else, so why not reward myself? This is a chance for me to be good to me," says Martin, who wraps her own gifts and adds a To: Samantha, From: Samantha tag. "I work very hard and never take the time during the year , so during the holidays I add myself to my holiday list."
More than a third of consumers — 36% — plan to buy gifts for themselves this year, up from 29% last year, according to an America's Research Group/UBS survey.
Sixty percent of shoppers set aside money to make additional "non-gift" purchases for themselves and their families this year, up from 57% in 2010, according to the National Retail Federation. The average person will spend $130.43 on such purchases, a 16% rise from $112.20 spent last year and an all-time high since the NRF started tracking self-gifting in 2002.
On Black Friday alone, 44% of shoppers bought something for themselves, up from 33% last year, according to retail trend tracker The NPD Group.
"During the holidays, we traditionally think of it as a season for gift-giving," says NPD Group Chief Industry Analyst Marshal Cohen. But self-indulgence is quickly becoming a "new tradition."
After several years of cutting back, people have grown weary of dismissing their own wants and needs, he says.
They're also looking for a reward after dealing with a year that included a roller-coaster stock market, increased work demands and overall economic uncertainty, says Wendy Liebmann, CEO of retail consultants WSL Strategic Retail.
"It's been a damn hard year," she says. "People want to pat themselves on the back for just surviving."
Mix together that waning restraint, that desire for a reward and the plethora of tantalizing purchase options showcased at this time of year, and the result is the "one for you, one for me" shopping attitude.
Temptations are everywhere, Liebmann says. Each day, consumers are bombarded with TV ads, daily-deal e-mails and Facebook promotions that present enticing items.
"There are so many ways to get you distracted from your (gift) list and tempt you to buy something for yourself," she says.
While shoppers are out seeking gifts for friends and family, they often come across items that they want to keep.
Three-fourths of shoppers said they've "loved" a gift so much that they bought the same thing for themselves, according to a customer survey from personal shopping website ShopItToMe.com.
Real estate agent Chantay Bridges has splurged on herself while shopping for others.
While in Southern California's Beverly Center to buy a pair of sparkly Ugg boots for her goddaughter, she snapped up a more subdued pair for herself.
The self-splurging "has happened so many times now, I can just place me in the category of 'totally treating myself to gifts this year,' " she says.
Flusher bank accounts
Many self-indulgent shoppers have economic justifications.
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