A recent Bankrate survey finds 33% of shoppers plan to spend less this holiday season than last year, 24% plan to spend more, and the rest expect their spending will remain the same.
“It seems that holiday shoppers will be more frugal this year, as multiple years of high inflation and high interest rates have taken a considerable toll,” said Ted Rossman, senior analyst at Bankrate, an independent consumer financial services company.
People are also getting an earlier head start on their holiday shopping this year, the survey found, which could be a sign they are hunting for discounts. Nearly half of shoppers (48%) say they will start their holiday shopping before Halloween. The rest will wait until November (37%) or December (15%) to begin shopping.
“While some people scoff that the holiday shopping season seems to start earlier every year, getting off to an early start gives you more time to comparison shop for the best deals and spread out the impact of your purchases,” Rossman said.
Nearly half of consumers (42%) said they will do most of their holiday shopping online, compared to 23% who said they will shop in person. The percentage of shoppers planning to use debit cards (58%), has increased from last year, which may be because credit card interest rates remain at record highs, Bankrate said. Last year, 52% primarily used debit cards to shop.
The survey found holiday shopping season brings more stress than cheer for some people, with 28% saying shopping costs stress them out, up 3 percentage points from 2023. Sixteen percent said they feel pressured to spend more than they should, up 3 percentage points from 2023.
Additionally, 27% of shoppers said they would take on debt in the form of carrying a credit card balance or using a buy now pay later service for their holiday shopping.
