Christmas spending in 2024 is anticipated to rise by 7% compared to last year, with the average shopper expected to spend about $1,638 on gifts, travel, and entertainment. This increase shows that consumers are willing to spend on the holiday season despite ongoing economic challenges.
On the other hand, nearly three in 10 consumers, especially those with lower incomes, plan to tighten their budgets.
Let’s take a closer look at the expected 2024 Christmas spending, patterns of spending, and additional insights in this article.
Christmas Spending Stats 2024: Top picks
- Shoppers are expected to spend an average of $1,638 on gifts, travel, and entertainment, marking a 7% increase from 2023.
- 26% of shoppers plan to increase their holiday budgets, with some planning to spend up to $3,076 this season.
- Millennials are set to increase their holiday spending by 22% compared to the previous year.
- 44% of Christmas shoppers anticipate dividing their purchases equally between in-store and online shopping.
- 80% of the holiday shoppers plan to purchase gifts and food for Christmas.
Source: Numerator, PWC
Christmas Spending 2024 (Expectations)
About 35% of consumers are planning to spend over $500 on Christmas this year.
Meanwhile, 16% indicated they’ll keep their holiday spending between $200 and $299. Interestingly, just 4% reported plans to spend less than $50, showing that most shoppers are budgeting a significant amount for the holiday season.
Here is a table displaying the estimated spending of the holiday shoppers on Christmas:
| Christmas Spending Intentions | Percentage Of Holiday Shoppers |
|---|---|
| Less than $50 | 4% |
| $50-$99 | 6% |
| $100-$199 | 11% |
| $200-$299 | 16% |
| $300-$399 | 14% |
| $400-$499 | 13% |
| Greater than $500 | 35% |
Source: Numerator.
8 in 10 people are looking forward to purchasing gifts for Christmas.
Meanwhile, 79% are looking forward to spending on food, and 36% are likely to spend on alcoholic beverages.
Here is a table displaying the percentage of consumers who will spend on different categories on Christmas in 2024:
| Category | Share Of Consumers |
|---|---|
| Gifts | 80% |
| Food | 79% |
| Decorations | 43% |
| Candy | 42% |
| Alcoholic beverages | 36% |
| Non-alcoholic beverages | 28% |
| Games or activities | 20% |
| Apparel or costumes | 19% |
| Party supplies | 17% |
| Nothing | 2% |
Source: Numerator
How Much Do People Spend On Christmas?
An average American spends $997.73 in each Christmas.
According to the National Retail Federation, American consumers spend an average of $997.73 on gifts and other holiday items each Christmas.
When calculating the expenses, we can conclude that Americans spend around a week’s salary on Christmas shopping.
The Average Amount Of Money Spent On Christmas
The total Christmas spending in the United States was forecasted to reach $1.1 trillion in 2023.
This is an increase of 0.05 trillion compared to 2021. The total Christmas spending in the United States was recorded to be $1.05 trillion in 2021.
Over 60% of the average American’s holiday budget is dedicated towards gifts and presents.
The rest of the budget is allocated to non-gift purchases and decorations.
Here is a table breaking down how an average American spends their money during Christmas shopping:
| Purchase Type | Average Spend (2021) | Percentage Of Total Spend |
|---|---|---|
| Gifts for Family, Friends, and Coworkers | $648 | 64.9% |
| Non-gift holiday Items (Food, Decorations, etc.) | $231 | 23.1% |
| Other Non-Gift Purchases for Friends or Family | $118 | 11.8% |
| Total | $998 | – |
Source: GoBankingRates, YouGov.
Consumers in the United States spent an average of under six weeks shopping during the holiday season.
This was a decrease compared to previous years. In 2021, consumers spent an average of 6.4 weeks in holiday shopping.
Here are further details about the time consumers spend shopping during the holiday season.
| Year | Time Spent By Consumers In Shopping |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 5.8 weeks |
| 2021 | 6.4 weeks |
| 2020 | 5.9 weeks |
| 2019 | 7.4 weeks |
| 2018 | 7.1 weeks |
Source: Statista.
Consumers planned to spend an average of $1,652 in 2023.
The 2023 Deloitte holiday survey highlights that average holiday spending is forecasted to increase 14% year over year. In 2022, the average spending was recorded at $1,455.
Here are further details about the average holiday spending recorded over the past years.
| Year | Average Holiday Spends | Change In Holiday Spending |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | $1,652 | +14% YOY |
| 2022 | $1,455 | No change |
| 2021 | $1,463 | +5% YOY |
| 2020 | $1,387 | -7% YOY |
| 2019 | $1,496 | – |
Source: Deloitte.
95% of consumers planned to shop for the holiday season in 2023.
Comparatively, only 92% of the consumers shopped during the holiday season in 2022.
Here are further details about the percentage of consumers who are looking forward to shopping during the holiday season.
| Year | Percentage Of Consumers |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 95% |
| 2022 | 92% |
| 2021 | 88% |
| 2020 | 95% |
| 2019 | 97% |
Source: Deloitte
How Much Does The Average American Spend On Holiday Shopping?
The average Christmas spending per person in the United States was anticipated to reach $950 in 2023.
This is up from $932 recorded in 2022.
Source: Porch Group Media.
Holiday retail sales were forecasted to reach as high as $960 billion in the country.
According to the National Retail Federation, an average American was expected to spend nearly $1,500 in the 2023 holiday season.
Source: CNBC.
Average Christmas Spending Around The World
Many families worldwide look forward to spending 156% of their monthly income on Christmas.
According to the WorldRemit 2022 Cost of Christmas Study, households in Lebanon pay the highest amounts compared to their average monthly income(688%).
The report further states that the Dutch will be spending the least, spending just 19% of their household’s monthly income this holiday season.
Here are further details about the average money families spend in different countries worldwide.
| Country | Average Family Spending |
|---|---|
| Lebanon | $2058 |
| Canada | $2100 |
| Germany | $1453 |
| USA | $1236 |
| France | $1127 |
| Australia | $1077 |
| Mexico | $1076 |
| UK | $1075 |
| Netherlands | $679 |
Source: Worldremit.
Overall retail spending worldwide was expected to reach $1.3 trillion during the 2023 holiday season.
This is a rise of 4.5% compared to the previous year’s holiday season.
Source: Online Dasher.
Other Findings About Christmas Spending
- Consumers in Germany spend more than 70% of their Christmas spending on gifts.
- Consumers in Spain spend most of their Christmas money on food, accounting for 73% of their spending.
- Columbia consumers will likely spend 73% of their average monthly household income during Christmas this year.
- Shoppers in Zimbabwe spend $208.70 during Christmas. This accounts for 266% of an average monthly household income.
US Christmas Gift Spending
Consumers looking forward to celebrating Christmas and other winter holidays are expected to spend $620 on gifts.
In a survey conducted by the National Retail Federation, it was revealed that consumers plan to spend $42 more on gifts in 2023 during the Christmas holiday season compared to the previous year.
- The total spending on Christmas gifts in the United States was estimated to be $184 billion in 2023.
A survey conducted by Bankrate highlights that 40% of consumers would buy fewer gift items this year. At the same time, 21% said they would go with the cheaper brands, and 41% plan to use sales, discounts, and coupons.
Source: Newsweek.
- In 2023, the spending on non-gift items like clothing for family, home furnishings, and decorations is forecast to jump 25% over 2022.
Source: CNN.
Christmas Spending Demographics
- Millennials are expected to spend the most during the 2023 Christmas holiday.
GenX and Baby Boomers are also not far behind in the race. Meanwhile, GenZ is predicted to spend the least this Christmas.
Here are further details about the average amount different generations are planning to spend on Gifts.
| Generation | Average Planned Holiday Gift Spending |
|---|---|
| Gen Z | $558 |
| Millennials | $855 |
| Gen X | $832 |
| Baby Boomers | $769 |
Interesting Fact: 18% of Gen Alpha prefer to buy products made with sustainable materials. Moreover, their preferences for gifting are likely to be similar to or align with the preferences of Gen Z and Millennials.
- Men spend an average of 10% more than women on holiday purchases.
In general, men spend $94 more on the average holiday purchase compared to women.
Source: Zippia.
Holiday Gifts By Type
- According to a 2022 survey, the most popular holiday gifts in the United States were Toys, Apparel, and Gift cards.
The online sale of the toys increased by 285% during the Black Friday Sale, compared to a normal day.
Here are further details about the types of holiday gifts that are bought by consumers in the United States.
| Type of Gifts | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| Clothing and accessories | 77% | 77% |
| Toys and hobbies | 77% | 76% |
| Gift cards and other | 76% | 76% |
| Food and beverage | 70% | 66% |
| Electronics and accessories | 57% | 61% |
| Health and wellness | 56% | 55% |
| Pet | 50% | 46% |
| Home and Kitchen | 49% | 55% |
Source: Statista, Wartonwomen.
Have you heard that almost $125 million and $103 million are lost to fraud in the payments made through credit cards and Gift cards.
Christmas Shopper’s Habits
- Almost three-quarters of all holiday shoppers will consider affordability this year.
80% of shoppers want to shop in cost-smart ways this holiday season.
Source: Emodoinc.
- In 2022, 48.9% of Christmas shopping was done offline.
Comparatively, 51.1% of the shoppers purchased goods online in 2022. The top three places to shop for Christmas gifts were:
- Online
- Department stores
- Discount stores
Source: EnterpriseApps Today.
- 43% of the consumers in the United States of America spend on Groceries during the holiday season.
Some other top places where shoppers spend during the holiday season are clothing or accessories, local or small businesses, electronics stores, etc.
Here are further details about where shoppers in the United States prefer to spend.
- Grocery stores/Supermarkets: 43%
- Clothing or accessories: 30%
- Local or small businesses: 24%
- Electronics stores: 20%
- Crafts or fabrics store: 16%
- Drugstore: 12%
- Other specialty stores: 11%
- Outlet stores: 10%
- Thrift stores/ Resale shops: 9%
- Catalog: 5%
- Other: 4%
- 35% of the consumers said that they want to stay at home and save money this Christmas.
On the other hand, 56% plan to spend the same amount or more than they usually do on gifts.
Source: Kennedy’s Confection.
Did you know? Consumers are predicted to spend $13.7 billion in 2023 during the Cyber Monday sales.
- AI technology will play a huge role in online shopping during the holiday season.
AI is predicted to drive $194 billion in holiday sales in 2023.
- 93% of shoppers will buy at least some gifts online this year.
41% of the shoppers look forward to purchasing most of their gifts online. At the same time, 6% of the shoppers consider buying all their gifts online.
Here are further details about the percentage of shoppers who are interested in buying their Christmas gifts online this year:
| Holiday Gifts | Percentage Of Holiday shoppers |
|---|---|
| All of them | 6% |
| Most of them | 41% |
| About half of them | 29% |
| Only a few of them | 17% |
| None of them | 7% |
Source: Gallup.
- 81% of the in-store shoppers research the products online before purchasing them.
87% of product searches start online, and less than a quarter of shoppers visit the stores for product research.
Source: Zippia.
Conclusion: Consumer Spending Will Increase By 7% On Christmas 2024
Consumers are set to spend 7% more this Christmas than the previous year, and their spending may reach $1,638.
GenZ and Millennials are expected to spend a significant amount on holidays, and these purchases will be majorly from technology, travel, and experiences rather than traditional physical gifts.
Conversely, older generations are more likely to focus on purchasing gift cards.
