Americans will waste $10.1B on unwanted holiday gifts — and 53% will get a disappointing present

Ho ho oh no.

Americans are expected to blow an estimated $10.1 billion on unwanted gifts this holiday season, according to a forecast conducted by a personal finance website.

More than half of US adults — a whopping 53% or 140 million people — will be left disappointed by at least one present they unwrap in December, website Finder predicted based on previous years’ surveys.

And the lackluster offerings aren’t just another pair of socks or a cheap bottle of wine. The average cost Americans will spend on poorly received gifts is estimated at $72 a pop — up from $66 the year prior — according to the analysis.

A study showed that Americans are expected to spend an estimated $10.1 billion on unwanted gifts this holiday season. pixelrain – stock.adobe.com

The price per pitiful present adds up to the shocking $10.1 billion total adults will waste on gifts that could end up collecting dust in the back of a closet or tossed in the landfill.

Approximately four in ten Americans will regift what they received — hopefully to someone more grateful.

Thirty-five percent will hold onto them, 32% will exchange or return the items, and 27% will sell them. Just 16% will toss the disappointing gifts in the trash and a bold 12% will give them back to the gifter, according to Finder’s predictions.

The analysis also shed light on the most common unwanted gifts.

The least wished-for gifts are clothes and accessories — with 43% of unwanted gifts expected to be attire this year, followed by household items at 33%, cosmetics and fragrances at 26% and technology at 25%, the study predicted.