Gallup Predicts Flat Holiday Spending
US consumers plan to spend
an average of $715 on gifts this holiday season, roughly on par with the $740 recorded by
Gallup in 2009.
Flat Spending Follows 2 Years of Deep Decline
The $25 decrease in Americans' holiday spending intentions between 2009 and 2010 (not a statistically significant change) contrasts with a $61 year-over-year reduction in intended spending from $801 in 2008 (more than 7%) and a $108 reduction from $909 (about 12%) found a year prior. Holiday spending remained flat between 2006 and 2007.
Percentage of Consumers Planning Lower Holiday Spend Drops
Twenty-seven percent of Americans intend to spend less on Christmas gifts this year than what they spent last Christmas. That figure is substantially higher than the 11% who now say they will spend more, but down from the 35% and 33% in 2008 and 2009 saying they would spend less.
The percentage of Americans saying they will spend about the same this Christmas as last Christmas (59%) is similar to the 56% saying so in 2009 and 54% saying so in 2008.
Nielsen Predicts Flat Holiday Sales Despite Increased Shoppers
The Nielsen Company is also predicting
flat holiday sales of about $89 billion this year, despite an increase in the number of shoppers. In addition, Nielsen forecasts a 0.15% decline in unit sales.
About the Data: Results for this Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted Oct. 7-10, 2010, with a random sample of 1,025 adults, aged 18 and older, living in the continental U.S., selected using random-digit-dial sampling. Gallup will update these figures with new polls in November and December 2010.
