A new survey suggests most Americans are having a tougher time than usual buying gifts this holiday season.
In its new Holiday Shopping Survey, WalletHub surveyed 210 individuals and then normalized the results by age, gender and income to accurately reflect U.S. demographics.
The results paint a relatively bleak picture of the American consumer.
According to the survey, 68% of people say “Santa will be less generous this year due to inflation,” and 31% say they’ll spend less on holiday shopping this year than in 2023.
Nearly half still have debt from last year’s holiday season, and 52% of people will apply for a new credit card in order to do their holiday shopping.
Sixteen percent say they won’t pay off their holiday shopping debt until spring 2025.
Seventy-two percent say their charitable giving is also being affected by inflation.
Despite the apparent financial stress of the holiday season, 72% answered “Yes” when asked if holiday shopping was worth it.
According to data from the St. Louis Fed, US consumer sentiment – measured by the University of Michigan – rose slightly to 70.5. Generally, a reading below 70 is considered “negative.”
Consumer sentiment has been in a downtrend since February 2020.
According to Surveys of Consumers Director Joanne Hsu at the University of Michigan, there is currently a political divide in the US in regard to inflation expectations and consumer sentiment.
“Democrats voiced concerns that anticipated policy changes, particularly tariff hikes, would lead to a resurgence in inflation. Republicans disagreed; they expect the next president will usher in an immense slowdown in inflation. As such, national measures of sentiment and expectations continue to reflect the collective economic experiences and observations of the American population as a whole.”
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