Fewer Americans Are Willing to Spend on Holiday Shopping This Year

It appears that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused holiday gift spending to go down.

According to a new Gallup poll released on Tuesday, 28% of consumers will shell out less on gifts this holiday season, as compared to last year.

Gallup surveyed 1,035 American adults between September 30th and October 15th. The poll has found that Americans predict they will spend an average of $805 on Christmas gifts this year, which is noticeably below their estimate a year ago ($942). This is also the lowest October holiday spending projection Gallup has measured since 2016.

This is “signaling sluggish sales for retailers already grappling with losses from COVID-19-related shutdowns earlier this year,” Fox Business says.

As COVID-19 cases spike again, fewer Americans seem willing to spend money on gifts.

In an October 21 report, USA Today said that over 25% of consumers have already completed their holiday shopping for the year, as shown by a LendingTree survey.

The survey also shows how Americans expect to go into debt this year due to their holiday shopping.

“Over 31% of consumers expect to go into holiday shopping debt over the coming months. Among those who were laid off or furloughed due to the pandemic, 47% expect to go into holiday shopping debt,” USA Today reported.

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