Expected holiday spending up sharply from last year: Gallup

Americans are expecting to spend at least $100 more on holiday shopping than they did last year, according to a poll released Wednesday. 

The Gallup survey found that Americans are predicting they will spend an average of $975 on gifts this season, making it the highest holiday shopping estimate recorded by the organization since it started tracking it in 1999. It also marks a significant jump from last year’s estimate, where Americans said they would spend an average of $867 — which was the previous record.

The lowest expected holiday spending recorded was $616 during the 2008 financial crisis, the polling center noted. Gallup added that the estimate has largely ticked upward in recent years, but has hovered near an average of $850 for the past four years.

This holiday spending estimate is also higher than what Americans said they would spend during the month of October, which was an average of $923. The polling center said this marks only the fifth time since 2006 that Americans’ spending expectations increased between the two months.

The jump was most prominent among middle-income and younger consumers. Those with household incomes between $40,000 and $99,999 plan to spend an average of $947 in gift-giving, which is up $200 from last year’s predictions.

In comparison, high-income Americans still plan to spend around $1,400 in holiday shopping like last year. Low-income Americans are planning on spending slightly less on gifts this year, expecting to spend $429, compared to last year’s $477.

Young shoppers are also more likely to spend more this holiday season, the poll found. Those under the age of 35 are expecting to spend $253 more on gifting than they did in 2022 — which averaged $962.

Middle-aged consumers are expected to spend the most out of any age group with an $1,111 average, the poll found. However, this is likely due to more people in this age group having children under the age of 18.

Households with children plan to spend about $1,306, while those without children plan to spend $835.

The poll also found that nearly 9 in 10 Americans will be shopping this holiday season. Fifty-eight percent plan to spend at least $500 on gifts, 26 percent will spend between $100 and $499 and 4 percent will spend less than $100.

The poll was conducted among 1,009 adults from Nov. 1-23 and has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.