Holiday Spending Expected to Increase

A new survey from the National Retailer Federation and BIGinsight reports U.S. consumers expect to spend about 1.2 percent more on the holidays this year. The average holiday shopper will spend $749.51 on gifts and décor. A little more than half of the people surveyed said the U.S. economy will affect their holiday budgets, down from 62.2 percent last year. The NRF noted that people are “now accustomed to living on a budget, cutting back on non-essential purchases and using coupons and searching for deals.” Nearly two-thirds will shop at discount stores and more than half will shop at department stores. Specialty store are expected to bring in 16.7 percent of holiday sales.