The amount that Americans plan to spend on gifts over the holidays has been revealed, proving that Christmas remains an expensive time of the year for many households across the country.
According to new data by Gallup, American shoppers plan on spending over $1,000 on average on holiday gifts, slightly higher than what they estimated at this time a year ago.
Based on a survey completed between November 6 and 20, Gallup said that Americans will spend on average $1,012 on gifts in 2024, compared to $975 in 2023.
This represents a significant jump in spending on gifts over the last two decades. The lowest figure on record is from 2008 following the global economic crash, when Americans said they planned to spend an average $616 on gifts over the holidays.
Holiday sales have typically increased year on year by an average of 4 percent, the study said. However, there have been exceptions in recent years. Planned holiday gift spending actually dropped from $886 in 2021 to $867 in 2022, with Gallup suggesting that unusually high inflation at the time could have been the reason for this.
Meanwhile, Gallup analyzed the historical relationship between Americans' holiday spending intentions each November to predict actual holiday retail sales. The study suggested that this year's holiday sales will likely rise by a better-than-average amount, near 5%.
The highest spenders were set to be upper-income Americans, parents of children under 18 and Republicans, who intend to spend more than $1,200.
Additionally, the age group that expected to spend the most was those between ages 35 and 55, who planned to spend an average of $1,146, compared to 18-34-year-olds who planned to spend $823 and over 55s $1,023.
Meanwhile, the study also said that American men were expected to spend more than women on gifts this year. It's said men would average $1,074 compared to women who would spend an average of $952.
Fifty-five percent of Americans said that they would spend about the same on gifts as they did last year. A smaller but significant 23 percent of respondents said they would spend less, while 19 percent said they planned to spend more than in 2023.
"Modeling this trend with past retail sales suggests 2024 holiday season spending could rise by closer to 6 percent," the study suggested.
"With inflation holding at less than 3 percent, the uncertainty of the presidential race over and Americans' outlook for the economy improved, consumers appear ready to spend a bit more than usual on holiday gifts. And rather than feel deterred from spending generously as the holiday season progresses, the enthusiasm they registered in October is largely holding up in November."
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