After more than two years of high prices, high interest rates and high economic uncertainty, American consumers would have been excused to cut back on their spending this holiday season. That doesn’t seem to be the case, however, as forecasts point towards new spending records this year.
The National Retail Federation expects consumers in the U.S. to spend an average of $902 on core holiday items including gifts, decorations, food and other holiday-related purchases this year, up $27 or 3.1 percent from last year's holiday budgets. When it comes to where Americans will be splashing their holiday cash, 57 percent of people said they'd shop online while 46 percent plan to go to a department or grocery store. Discount stores are also a popular shopping destination, perhaps owed to people's need to keep their spending in check.
So while it seems that many Americans like to avoid the crowds and do most of their holiday shopping online, physical stores still have role to play during the year's busiest shopping season. In terms of getting into the Christmas spirit, shopping for gifts at a nicely-decorated store while the store radio plays some holiday classics beats hunting for bargains online every time.
