CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The National Retail Federation’s latest consumer survey said Americans will spend an average of $875 for the winter holidays on gifts, decorations, food, and other seasonal essentials. This figure represents a $42 increase compared to last year.
Deniz Gevrek, a professor of economics at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, said that the trend has remained consistent.
“If we look at the long-term trends, this is consistent with long term trends. This number of $875 dollars is consistent with the last five-year average, so the last five-year average was in the ballpark of 866,” Gevrek said.
Breaking down the anticipated spending, approximately $620 is earmarked for gifts, while an additional $255 is budgeted for seasonal items like decorations, candy, or food.
“Last year people’s expectation was lower by 5% on their spending, so people are correcting for this lower expected spending of last year,” Gevrek said. “Last year we experienced about 8.2% inflation in September, so that a lot.”
The survey also found that 43% of holiday shoppers typically start their shopping before November the reason being spreading out the budget, avoiding stress, and steering clear of crowds.
Allison Williams is a local shopper in the Coastal Bend and she said that it is just easier to make something from the heart.
“As much as I love my family and friends around me, I don't usually spend a crazy amount. I am typically one of the people who likes to make gifts for people,” Williams said.
Amit Kumar, a professor of psychology at University of Texas Austin, said that there is research behind gift giving.
“The reason that we give gift to other people and enjoy receiving gifts from other people is because it helps us feel socially connected to them, it helps foster these bounds and this social relationship we have,” Kumar said.
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