Oct. 30, 2024 — Consumer spending for winter holidays is set to reach a new high of $902 per person on average, covering gifts, food, decorations, and other seasonal purchases, according to a recent survey by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Prosper Insights & Analytics. This figure marks an increase of roughly $25 per person from last year and surpasses the previous record set in 2019 by $16.
“The winter holidays are a treasured time for Americans, and they are prioritizing spending on family this holiday season,” says NRF vice president of industry and consumer insights Katherine Cullen. “Despite the shorter window of time between Thanksgiving and Christmas, retailers are prepared to meet the needs of consumers by providing holiday shoppers with earlier deals and sales and by ensuring inventory is available for the most in-demand items this year.”
The survey found that most holiday spending is directed toward gifts for family members, with consumers planning to allocate about $641 of their holiday budgets to gifts for loved ones, a rise from $620 last year. The remaining $261 will be spent on seasonal items like food, decorations, and holiday cards.
Celebrations remain widespread, with 92% of U.S. adults planning to observe winter holidays such as Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa. Nearly half of holiday shoppers (45%) intend to start shopping before November, a trend consistent with recent years and up from 40% a decade ago. The reasons for early shopping include budget management (59%), stress reduction (45%), crowd avoidance (42%), and taking advantage of early promotions (42%). Despite the head start, 62% of shoppers expect to finish their holiday purchases in December.
Online shopping is the most popular choice, with 57% of consumers planning to shop online, followed by department stores (46%), grocery stores (46%), and discount stores (45%).
“While most consumers will opt to shop at traditional retailers this holiday season, many younger consumers between the ages of 18 to 24 will also head to thrift stores and resale shops,” says Prosper executive vice president of strategy Phil Rist. “Secondhand and refurbished gifts appeal to this age group’s desire to save money and be more sustainable.”
Gift cards remain at the top of holiday wish lists, requested by 53% of shoppers, followed by clothing and accessories (49%), books and media (28%), and personal care items (25%).