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Gifts. Decorations. Travel. There are many fun things to spend money on this time of year. But just how much are Americans spending this holiday season? Let’s look at how much the average American is spending.
According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), the average holiday season spending per person was around $875 in 2023 and is expected to grow to $902 in 2024. This increase follows the trend of consumers planning to spend more on gifts for their families.
Online shopping continues to be a popular choice for consumers during the holiday shopping season. 57% of people say they plan to make their holiday purchases online, and 46% of people say they plan to shop at department stores.
(In case you’re wondering what the holiday shopping season includes, it covers all of November and December, including four major holidays: Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa.)
With the shorter time frame between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year, retailers are preparing to provide customers with sales and deals earlier than in previous years.
PRO TIP: Start looking ahead. Take advantage of after-Christmas sales to grab birthday presents, anniversary gifts, etc. (Avoid impulse purchases by planning your purchases ahead of time.)
Those who plan to celebrate this holiday season (92% of U.S. adults) saw that a majority of their holiday spending will go to buying gifts for their family, friends and coworkers. Like previous years, gift cards remain the most popular gift option due to their convenience and flexibility. Instead of picking out a physical gift, you can give them a way to spend money on something or at someplace they enjoy.
After gift cards, other more popular holiday gifts include clothing, accessories, media and beauty items.
While gifts account for about 2/3rd of the approximate spend during the holiday season, the remaining is spent on other seasonal items such as decorations and holiday cards.
PRO TIP: Set a holiday spending budget. Start the holiday season by creating a budget and deciding what you will spend on gifts, decorations, etc. Avoid splurging on something not on your list because it’s a good deal. Also, follow these tips to protect yourself from fraud this holiday season.
Gathering around the table is a tradition for many families on Thanksgiving, and that isn’t free, either. According to Forbes, a “classic” Thanksgiving dinner for 10 people will cost between $73 and $90 this year depending on whether you choose name brand or store brand products.
The cost of the traditional turkey is relatively the same as last year, but you may see a rise in cost for other Thanksgiving staples, such as boxed stuffing mix and dinner rolls.
Still, at between than $8 and $9 per person for the whole meal, that’s not too shabby. However, the estimate only included the “classic” basics – turkey, bread stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls with butter, peas, cranberries, veggie tray, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and coffee and milk – so throwing in special delicacies or alcohol can push that cost much higher.
PRO TIP: Remember all of your grocery savings tricks. Don’t let your usual shopping savvy fly out the window just because it’s Thanksgiving or Christmas. Grab store circulars, clip coupons and stick to your shopping list to get the most out of your holiday dinner grocery budget.
So we’ve covered the gifts, the decorations and even the food. The remaining big-ticket expenses Americans incur during the holiday season are all travel-related.
In a typical year, according to the U.S. Travel Association, the top leisure activity for U.S. domestic travelers is – surprise! – visiting relatives. Travel is predicted to be significantly up this winter season.
In 2024, AAA predicts that a whopping 80 million Americans will travel for Thanksgiving, which is a 1.7 million increase compared to last year.
Of those travelers, 71.7 million were expected to drive, 5.8 million will fly, and the remaining 2.8 million will travel on cruises, buses and trains.
The top domestic destinations this Thanksgiving will be Atlanta, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Oahu, Orlando and Phoenix.
PRO TIP: Check out our post on how you can save money on your next road trip.
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