Survey: Inflation, cost of living to impact majority of holiday shopping plans
Nearly two-thirds of U.S. consumers say that high prices will impact their holiday spending, while a small chunk of consumers plan to delay holiday season celebrations.
That’s according to a new survey from Invoice Home, an invoice generating software with the help of third-party research from Censuswide. Sixty-four percent of U.S. consumers say inflation and the cost of living will likely impact their spending this holiday season, which will significantly affect retailers in the U.S. This is followed by credit card interest rates or the unavailability of credit (40%), as well as the outcome of the upcoming U.S. presidential election (37%).
Additionally, 11% of U.S. consumers are planning to celebrate the holidays in 2025 due to high costs, with 19% willing to delay payment by two to three weeks in order to make ends meet during the holidays, and another one-in-10 (12%) by one to two months. Invoice Home noted that post-Christmas sales typically come with massive discounts from retailers as they try to recover as sales historically plunge by 15% to 22% from December to January.
[READ MORE: Salesforce: U.S. holiday sales to reach $277 billion]
Consumers stated if prices continue to increase due to inflation/external economic factors, they’ll cut back to save money by:
- Not traveling (25%)
- Opting out of gifting (24%)
- Thrifting gifts (23%)
- Boycotting brands that don't offer free shipping/returns (11%)
- Regifting all holiday gifts (8%)
- Taking out a second mortgage (5%)
For those being cautious with holiday spending, the top-three ways they anticipate spending most of their holiday purchases in 2024 include during Black Friday/Cyber Monday (38%), doing most of their shopping in-store to specifically avoid shipping fees (33%) and during another Amazon Prime Day sale (30%). Thirty-five percent of Gen Z and 26% of millennial consumers anticipate spending most of their holiday purchases this year shopping at small businesses in store/online (Local boutiques, Etsy, etc.), followed by digital gift cards to avoid wrapping and shipping fees (19% of Gen Z and 20% of millennials).
“Unpacking this data and what it means for businesses, we can see the shift in consumer purchasing for the 2024 holiday season,” said Petr Marek, co-founder and CEO at Invoice Home. “Spending time now enhancing your online presence, adding holiday-specific keyword research and broadening your reach to meet consumers where they are is crucial in attracting business this year. And the most important piece of advice for businesses for the next few months: Train your staff to deliver the best customer experience.”
The total sample size for the survey was 2,002 U.S. consumers, and it was fielded between Aug. 5-7, 2024.
