A: People are going to spend less than previous years.
The upcoming holiday season will be different than most years. Given the economic impacts of COVID-19, anticipated holiday spending is no exception.
In our mid-October poll, we asked respondents to gauge how much they intend to spend on holiday shopping this year compared to last year. We find that just over half (52%) of respondents plan to “significantly decrease” or “slightly decrease” their holiday spending. However, 45% of respondents plan on spending the same amount as they did last year.
These results align with how COVID-19 has impacted personal finances in general, with 33% of respondents having experienced a decrease in savings and 49% of respondents having decreased their spending (“reduced significantly" or “reduced slightly").
Last updated on November 4, 2020. Please check back for updates.
Preliminary results based on 302 online survey respondents in the United States. Data from October 16, 2020 through October 19, 2020.
For more information about our survey techniques, click here to visit our Methods page.