Slight Uptick in Christmas Spending Plans Over Last Year

According to a recent report from Gallup.com, the average US consumer is planning on spending an average of $770 on Christmas gifts this year. This is up slightly from the $764 that the average US consumer said that they were going to spend on Christmas presents at this time last year.

According to Gallup, this points to "good, though not great, sales for holiday retailers in 2012."

Let's look at the estimated Christmas spending (November forecast) for the past 14 years:

1999 - $857
2000 - $817
2001 - $794
2002 - $690
2003 - $734
2004 - $730
2005 - $763
2006 - $826
2007 - $866
2008 - $616
2009 - $638
2010 - $714
2011 - $764
2012 - $770

You can clearly see the impact of the "Great Recession" on these numbers, as the average US consumer cut an amazing $250 off of their Christmas spending estimates in November of 2008.

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Of the 1,015 respondents included in Gallup's survey, almost 90% said that they will spend at least some money on Christmas presents this year.

Here's a breakdown of how much people are planning on spending this year:

$1,000 or More - 30%
$500 - $999 - 21%
$250 - $499 - 15%
$100 - $249 - 19%
Under $100 - 3%
None/Don't Celebrate - 6%
Not Sure - 5%

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Gallup estimates that holiday retail sales will increase 3.5% - 3.7% over last year.

Source: Gallup.com - U.S. Christmas Spending Intentions on Pace With 2011

Filed under: General Knowledge