The files
| File, format and size | What it holds |
|---|---|
| published-aggregates.json |
Every aggregate figure from the VRTO Research survey of 2,038 US adults fielded on 2026-08-22, with the method facts and the corrections log. |
| christmas-2026-toplines.csv |
The published tables in one long-format file, one row per answer: the primary category planners will pay over time for (476 planners), where rent-to-own and virtual rent-to-own planners expect to set up the plan (101, small base), expected holiday spend compared with last year (1,669 shoppers), what most makes shoppers trust a new store (2,038), how shoppers find stores and products (2,038, multi-select), the companies planners are considering and their first choice (476), the items named within each category, and the two budget tables (weekly payment for the 101 rent-to-own and virtual rent-to-own planners; total item cost for the 375 buy-now-pay-later planners). Columns: table, base_description, answer, respondents, base, pct. |
| christmas-2026-crosstab-by-income.csv |
The five planner tables cut by household income band, 476 planners (income was asked of planners only). Cells under 30 are blank. |
| christmas-2026-crosstab-by-past-rto-use.csv |
The five planner tables cut by past rent-to-own or virtual rent-to-own use, all 2,038 respondents. Cells under 30 are blank. |
| christmas-2026-responses-anonymized.csv |
All 2,038 responses with identifiers, timestamps and typed answers removed. Every value is a choice from a fixed list. |
| christmas-2026-responses-readme.txt |
Which columns were removed from the row file and why, which were kept, and the crosstab notes. |
Cite this data
License. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0). You can copy, chart and republish these files, including commercially, as long as you credit the source.
Required attribution. VRTO Research, Christmas 2026 Financing Study, https://www.vrto.com/research/christmas-2026-buying-guide/data
Questions, or a cut you need. [email protected]
Privacy
Respondents were paid panel participants. The panel identifiers recorded at fielding are removed. No file here holds names, email addresses, panel or response identifiers, IP addresses, locations or timestamps, or any answer a respondent typed in their own words. Every value in the row file is a choice from a fixed list. The survey did not ask age, state or ZIP code. Rows are numbered in an order that does not follow submission time. Please do not try to re-identify anyone.
From the row file we removed the four identifier columns (response, participant, study and session ids), the two timestamps (when the form was opened and submitted), and the 15 columns that held typed answers: the "anything else" follow-up for each category and the clothing, toys and other item questions, which took typed answers. Each row keeps its fielding wave, a field_date of 2026-08-22 and a running respondent_seq. The README lists every removed and every kept column, and the codebook says what each column measures.
The crosstabs
Each crosstab repeats the five planner tables from the study (primary category, where they plan to pay, spend compared with last year, trust factor, and discovery sources) for each group of one variable. Any cell with fewer than 30 people is left blank, and each file says so in its first lines.
- By household income. Income was asked of the 476 planners who will finance part of Christmas only, so every table in this file is limited to planners.
- By past rent-to-own use. Whether and when each of the 2,038 respondents used rent-to-own or virtual rent-to-own.
- Not published: age and region. The survey did not ask age, state or region, so there is no age or Census region cut.
What the survey measured
- Fielding wave
- Whether the respondent plans to pay over time for holiday shopping (rent-to-own, virtual rent-to-own or buy-now-pay-later), and the ways they plan to pay
- Product categories they plan to pay over time for, and the one primary category
- The item planned within the primary category
- Household income band (planners only)
- Expected weekly payment band (rent-to-own and virtual rent-to-own planners)
- Expected total item cost band (buy-now-pay-later planners)
- Where rent-to-own and virtual rent-to-own planners plan to pay: a rental store or virtual rent-to-own at a checkout
- Buy-now-pay-later providers considered and first choice (Affirm, Klarna and others, from a fixed list)
- Rent-to-own stores and virtual rent-to-own companies considered and first choice (from a fixed list)
- Expected holiday spend compared with last year
- What most makes the respondent trust a store they have not used
- Where the respondent finds stores and products
- AI assistant used for shopping, if any
- Past rent-to-own or virtual rent-to-own use, with recency, and where it happened
- Satisfaction with rent-to-own, on the FTC 2000 survey question
- Likelihood of using rent-to-own or virtual rent-to-own again
Answers are the labels respondents saw. Multi-select answers sit in one cell, separated by semicolons. A blank cell means the question was not asked of that respondent (routing) or not answered.