“Time and again, Americans prioritise spending on loved ones for holidays despite economic uncertainty,” NRF vice president of industry and consumer insights Katherine Cullen said. “With more consumers planning to seek out sale events this year, retailers are prepared to deliver on deals and value to ensure consumers have everything they need to make the holiday special.”
Nearly all US adults (91 per cent) plan to celebrate winter holidays such as Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa this year, in line with recent years.
Out of the total, $627.93 will go to gifts for family and friends. The remaining $262.56 will be used on seasonal items like food or candy, decorations and greeting cards, as per the survey.
Early shopping remains popular, with 42 per cent of shoppers planning to begin browsing and buying for the holiday season before November. The leading reasons they shop early are to spread out their budget (54 per cent) or to avoid the stress of last-minute shopping (41 per cent). Even with the early start, the majority (60 per cent) anticipate they will finish shopping in December.
Tariffs remain top of mind for most holiday shoppers, with 85 per cent anticipating higher prices because of tariffs. Nearly two-thirds (63 per cent) plan to wait until Thanksgiving weekend to do most of their holiday shopping, up from 59 per cent last year.
“Despite consumers’ economic concerns, the winter holidays remain an important occasion to celebrate with loved ones,” Prosper executive vice president of strategy Phil Rist said. “This is particularly true for those families with children who are expected to increase their gift budgets by more than $30 on average.”
As with other years, consumers plan to shop across numerous destinations this holiday season. Online continues to be the top holiday shopping destination, with 55 per cent planning to make purchases digitally. That is followed by grocery stores (46 per cent), department stores (44 per cent) and discount stores (42 per cent).
According to the survey, the top gifts consumers would like to receive include gift cards (50 per cent), clothing or accessories (46 per cent), books and other media (27 per cent), personal care or beauty items (23 per cent) and electronics (22 per cent).
The survey asked 8,247 adult consumers about their holiday shopping plans. It was conducted from October 1-7 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.1 percentage points.
ALCHEMPro News Desk (RR)
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