Americans are planning to celebrate Christmas like it's 2007
Adam Berry / Stringer / Getty Images
- Americans plan to spend $862 on gifts this season, more than their planned spending at this time last year.
- This estimate is significantly higher than any estimate in November since 2007 - just before the financial crisis and recession.
Americans are planning on celebrating Christmas like it's 2007.
US consumers are planning on spending $862 on average on Christmas gifts this year, according to a survey conducted by Gallup in November.
That's a huge jump from the amount Americans said they planned on spending at this time last year - $752.
Americans haven't given such a high estimate for their holiday spending plans in any November since 2007 - just before the financial crisis and recession.
"Americans intend to spend more this holiday season than they have in a decade," Lydia Saad, senior editor at Gallup, wrote.
"Whether consumers wind up splurging or just being a bit more generous in their outlays than usual could be influenced by how the stock market and other US economic indicators perform in the coming weeks, as well as any action on Capitol Hill perceived as affecting the middle class," she added. "For now, however, consumers are in a spending mood, meaning that getting them into stores early could be critical to retailers' efforts to score big this holiday season."
Looking under the hood of the data, 34% of adults expect to spend $1,000 or more on Christmas gifts this year; 22% said they will spend between $500-$999; 15% said between $250-$499; and 18% said less than $250.
Nine percent say they don't celebrate Christmas or won't be spending anything, and 2% said they're unsure about spending plans.
- Some Tesla factory workers realized they were laid off when security scanned their badges and sent them back on shuttles, sources say
- I tutor the children of some of Dubai's richest people. One of them paid me $3,000 to do his homework.
- India not benefiting from democratic dividend; young have a Kohli mentality, says Raghuram Rajan
- Indo-Gangetic Plains, home to half the Indian population, to soon become hotspot of extreme climate events: study
- 7 Vegetables you shouldn’t peel before eating to get the most nutrients
- Gut check: 10 High-fiber foods to add to your diet to support digestive balance
- 10 Foods that can harm Your bone and joint health
- 6 Lesser-known places to visit near Mussoorie