Consumers plan to spend $890.49 per person on average this year on holiday gifts, food, decorations, and other seasonal items, which is about 1.3% less than last year, according to a National Retail Federation survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics.
Nevertheless, the amount is still the second highest in the survey’s 23-year history, falling just shy of last year’s record of $901.99.
“Time and again, Americans prioritize spending on loved ones for holidays despite economic uncertainty,” said Katherine Cullen, NRF Vice President of Industry and Consumer Insights.
Nearly all U.S. adults (91%) plan to celebrate winter holidays such as Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa this year, in line with recent years.
Out of the total, $627.93 will go to gifts for family and friends. The remaining $262.56 will be used on seasonal items like food or candy, decorations, and greeting cards. Families with children intend to spend $30 more on average on gifts this year than other consumers.
Early shopping remains popular, with 42% of shoppers planning to begin browsing and buying for the holiday season before November. The leading reasons they shop early are to spread out their budget (54%) or to avoid the stress of last-minute shopping (41%). Even with the early start, the majority (60%) anticipate they will finish shopping in December.
Tariffs remain top of mind for most holiday shoppers, with 85% anticipating higher prices because of tariffs. Nearly two-thirds (63%) plan to wait until Thanksgiving weekend to do most of their holiday shopping, up from 59% last year.
As with other years, consumers plan to shop across numerous destinations this holiday season. Online continues to be the top holiday shopping destination, with 55% planning to make purchases digitally. That is followed by grocery stores (46%), department stores (44%), and discount stores (42%).
According to the survey, the top gifts consumers would like to receive include gift cards (50%), clothing or accessories (46%), books and other media (27%), personal care or beauty items (23%), and electronics (22%).
The survey asked 8,247 adult consumers about their holiday shopping plans. It was conducted Oct. 1-7 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.1 percentage points.
