Holiday Spending Statistics to Know About in 2023
After the pandemic, holidays and festivities are back, albeit stifled by the looming recession and growing prices. So, to shine more light on holiday shopping plans and the average gift-giving budgets, we prepared the essential holiday spending statistics for 2023.
These facts and projections reveal consumer trends and illustrate the overall economic situation. So, let us dive in to see how much money US shoppers will spend during the upcoming merry season.
Top 10 Holiday Spending Statistics & Facts
In 2021, the overall holiday spending in the US reached $886.7 billion.
68% of consumers expected higher prices for their holiday spending in 2022.
The expected average holiday spending in 2022 was expected to reach $1,802 per person.
51% of US consumers plan to buy fewer gifts this year than in 2021.
Digital spending between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday increased by 19% since 2019.
40% of shoppers start buying Christmas presents before the end of October.
Consumers received more than six billion out-of-stock messages during the 2021 holiday season.
Online shopping accounted for 24.1% of total holiday spending in 2021.
The biggest online shopping day in American history was Cyber Monday in 2020.
89% of shoppers expected to see inflation impacting their 2022 holiday spending.
The Latest Holiday Shopping Statistics
In 2021, the overall holiday spending in the US reached $886.7 billion.
Despite the rising inflation, inventory scarcity, and the Omicron variant, retailers recorded positive balances in 2021, with overall spending exceeding expectations. Namely, holiday sales in the US, including e-commerce, recorded the highest growth in the previous two decades!
For instance, sales in November and December jumped by 14.1% compared to the same period in 2020.
(CNBC)
Online holiday sales in 2021 reached $211.41 billion.
Even though many customers returned to land-based stores after the pandemic, online spending in 2021 recorded a 10% growth rate compared to 2020.
Moreover, holiday spending statistics for 2021 reveal that digital revenue increased by a jaw-dropping 54.9% compared to 2019 and the last pre-COVID period.
(Digital Commerce 360)
Prices of consumer goods during the 2021 holiday season increased 6.8% YoY.
Although the overall spending grew by 17% compared to 2019, it was clear that the rising inflation and supply chain shortages would increase prices. For instance, the prices for online apparel grew by 17.3% compared with pandemic levels.
Affected by the overall economic situation, online prices in the US also saw a record high, increasing by 3.5% YoY.
(Deloitte)
68% of consumers also expected higher prices for their holiday spending in 2022.
There is no sugar coating it—inflation is here and will severely hit lower-income groups. So, it is no surprise that more than two-thirds of consumers expect higher prices for winter holidays.
Moreover, low-income households comprise 65% of the overall non-spenders for the upcoming merry season, given that promotions and discounts will not negate the increase in prices.
(Deloitte)
67% of retail executives expected the financial situation to stabilize in 2022.
While most consumers share a pessimistic perspective, two in three retail executives plan for a comeback and expect the economy to improve.
Of course, they base the optimism on last year’s metrics and the fact that the total order volume in 2021 grew by 33% YoY.
(Deloitte)
The expected average holiday spending in 2022 will reach $1,802 per person.
Like every year, social status and generation differences will affect spending in 2022 as well. For instance, studies show millennials will spend more cash than any other generation, but their contribution to online spending will be the lowest (63%).
Again, the highest-earning population ($100,000+ a year) will spend the most (avg. $2,616), 340% more than the lowest-earning group (below $25,000 a year) (avg. $769).
(Power Reviews)
Estimated Spending and Gift Giving Statistics
51% of US consumers plan to buy fewer gifts this year than in 2021.
We mentioned the factors increasing the prices of consumer goods, so it is reasonable to see that half of American shoppers plan to purchase fewer presents for their friends and family.
Likewise, data shows that 42% of consumers plan to start their gift hunting earlier than ever, hoping to snag holiday presents before the prices skyrocket. In addition, 17% of shoppers say they were unsure whether they would purchase any gifts for the 2022 holiday season.
(Salesforce)
89% of shoppers expected to see inflation impacting their 2022 holiday spending.
Holiday shopping statistics reveal that nine in ten consumers expect higher prices and more expensive services for the upcoming holidays. More precisely, 59% of shoppers expect the effects of inflation to range from ‘moderate’ to ‘significant.’
When asked about their shopping intentions and plans, most consumers said they expect to spend an average of $25-50 on gifts. On the other hand, more than half (59%) revealed their plans to spend over $200 on Christmas gifts.
(Numerator)
Millennials were expected to spend $1,646 on average during the 2021 holiday season.
According to holiday shopping statistics for the previous year, millennials were the highest spenders during the festive period. The same trend was expected to continue in 2022.
Likewise, Generation Z was expected to spend an average of $1,154 during the winter holidays.
(Statista)
Apparel sales are expected to increase by 4.6% compared to 2021.
Since we live in a post-pandemic world, social gatherings are back in full force. Thus, consumers again want to look and feel good, buying new apparel for themselves and their loved ones. Similarly, holiday spending on luxury is expected to see a 4.4% increase.
Mastercard’s annual holiday forecast predicts a 7.1% growth in total US retail sales.
(Mastercard)
US Holidays Ranked By Spending
The biggest online shopping day in American history was Cyber Monday in 2020.
It is no secret that digital spending in 2020 skyrocketed because of COVID-related measurements. As a result, the total online holiday sales amounted to approximately 186 billion dollars!
Cyber Monday stole the show, hitting nearly 10.8 billion dollars in digital sales. The second place went to Black Friday, with around nine billion dollars in online retail sales.
(Statista)
Online sales on Cyber Monday in 2021 increased 1.1% YoY to reach 10.9 billion dollars.
Cyber Monday is among the most expensive holidays in the US and digital sales on this holiday continue to grow. In essence, Cyber Monday is an e-commerce term for the Monday following the Thanksgiving weekend.
Speaking of Thanksgiving, studies revealed that online sales during this holiday in 2021 increased by 2.3% compared to 2020, reaching $5.17 billion.
(Insider Intelligence)
Digital spending between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday increased by 19% since 2019.
In 2021, American consumers spent nearly 34 billion dollars online during the five-day shopping marathon stretching from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday. However, online spending did not reach pandemic levels when consumers spent $34.36 billion for the same period.
Nevertheless, holiday statistics show that despite the 1.4% YoY dip, total US online sales have increased significantly compared to pre-pandemic numbers.
(Digital Commerce 360)
The total Christmas-related retail sales in the US were expected to reach $850 billion in 2021.
Christmas is enjoyed by millions worldwide, and only one in ten Americans say they never join the festivities. Of course, Christmas is an essential stimulus for many nations’ economies as retail sales increase dramatically as we near the end of the year.
Although it is difficult to determine how much is spent on Christmas each year, the projections for 2021 revolved around $850 billion and 8.5% YoY growth.
(Statista)
40% of shoppers start buying Christmas presents before the end of October.
The Christmas shopping season requires planning and budgeting, and some consumers start the gift chase as early as September. On the other hand, only about 10% of US shoppers typically start buying Christmas presents in December.
In 2021, about 13% of consumers in the United States intended to spend more on Christmas goods than they did in 2020. Conversely, around two-thirds expected to spend roughly the same amount.
(Statista)
In 2021, US consumers were expected to spend ten billion dollars for Halloween.
According to Halloween spending statistics, the overall spending for the Halloween season was projected to increase significantly from $2 billion in 2020.
Halloween is another landmark in the US consumer culture, and projected spending on terrifying costumes and props alone in 2021 reached nearly $3.5 billion.
(Statista)
In 2021, US consumers were expected to spend an average of $448 for Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving is another prominent festive period in American culture, with 88% of Americans eating turkey and spending money on elaborate meal plans.
Despite inflation and the global financial crisis, consumers in the United States increased their projected spending on Thanksgiving by 12% compared to 2020.
(Statista, Finder)
Holiday Season Store Statistics to Know About
In 2021, 67% of consumers were confident or very confident that they would find holiday gifts.
With more than 148 million US consumers hunting for presents on the last Saturday before Christmas, land-based and online stores inevitably experience inventory scarcity.
However, according to the National Retail Federation, 71% of consumers reported that they managed to find the goods they were looking for most of the time.
(NRF)
59% of retailers admit they start seasonal marketing before November to combat availability problems.
The proven recipe for the most profitable holidays is to invest in marketing, and savvy retailers use various methods and techniques to attract customers and prepare for the height of gift buying. For instance, nearly six in ten retail executives start seasonal advertising before November.
Moreover, 16% of retailers in the United States begin campaigns in September, while another 16% consider starting their marketing campaigns in July or August.
(Digital Commerce 360)
Consumers received more than six billion out-of-stock messages during the 2021 holiday season.
Despite massive efforts to combat supply chain issues, retailers across the US were forced to send out a record-breaking number of out-of-stock notifications.
Namely, this particular holiday season store statistic revealed that out-of-stock messages grew by 253% compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019. In October 2021 alone, online consumers received over two billion out-of-stock notifications.
(Adobe)
Brick-and-mortar sales in the United States increased by 17.3% year-over-year to reach $1.017 trillion.
After the traumatic 2020, consumer spending showed signs of recovery in 2021. For instance, retail growth set record-breaking numbers, reaching the most substantial growth in the past 20 years.
So, even though the pandemic still affected the money spent on Christmas and other winter holidays, the overall retail spending grew by 16.1% and reached $1.2 trillion. Experts predict that these healthy spending patterns will continue.
(Insider Intelligence)
In 2021, 64% of retail executives were worried about inventory scarcity.
Despite an early start and months of preparation, many stores across the United States experienced shipping delays and supply chain issues. Therefore, it is no surprise that two-thirds of retailers were concerned about not receiving goods on time.
Meanwhile, six in ten shoppers were concerned about not receiving orders on time, while 75% of consumers were worried about stock-outs.
(Deloitte)
The Modern Holiday Shopping Trends
Online shopping accounted for 24.1% of total holiday spending in 2021.
A quarter of consumers in the United States ordered goods online during the merry season in 2021, meaning that nearly one in every four dollars spent during the holidays came from e-commerce.
Online penetration was at its highest in 2020, but the growth trend is expected to continue.
(Digital Commerce 360)
43% of online retail sales in 2021 were made via smartphones.
Smartphones and tablets offer maximum convenience and allow users to order goods within seconds. Consequently, studies report an increasing reliance on mobile devices during the most expensive holidays in the US.
Notably, consumer spending during the Cyber 5 weekend in 2021 relied heavily on sales made from tablets and smartphones. In 21 states, the smartphone-generated revenue exceeded 50% of the total.
(Adobe)
In the 2022 holiday season, the total mobile commerce sales was expected to reach $115 billion.
Buying gifts via mobile devices is growing in popularity, and mobile commerce could experience a 20% year-over-year growth in the upcoming season.
After all, reports reveal that live stream shopping app installs in the first five months of 2022 grew by 77% YoY. Likewise, most trendy apps like TikTok have built-in features for effortless shopping, increasing the average money spent on Christmas and other winter holidays.
(Practical Ecommerce)
43% of shoppers would join a loyalty program to access hard-to-find products.
During the 2021 holiday season, US consumers have embraced loyalty programs to access top-selling items and receive discounts. Namely, 81% of consumers have purchased specific brands because they were members.
In addition, 61% of shoppers said they joined loyalty programs to receive discounts, while 43% signed up to prioritize guaranteed delivery and access to scarce items.
(Deloitte)
FAQ
How much money is spent during the holidays?
How much does the average consumer spend on holiday gifts?
What is the highest spending holiday?
How much did consumers spend for Christmas 2021?
How much do Americans spend on holiday shopping?
What is the most commercially successful holiday?
Conclusion
Judging by the positive trends and the yearly growth in holiday spending, US retailers are on course for another successful holiday season. Of course, out-of-stock messages and growing prices will affect many shopping plans, but the overall holiday spending statistics should depict a positive picture. Consumers will continue to embrace new trends, primarily mcommerce, but the classic land-based shopping experience will remain a favorite for most US consumers.
Sources:
