Consumers are Approaching the Holiday Season Eager to Spend

U.S. Households Plan to Spend an Average of $675 on Gifts this Season

Despite some softening in confidence, consumers are entering the holiday season in a highly festive mood, with intentions to spend about $675 on gifts this season, according to a survey by The Conference Board. This is an increase over last year’s spending estimate of $627. However, despite a willingness to spend generously, consumers say they are expecting steep discounts. In fact, more than a third say they expect – at a minimum – to purchase half their gifts at a discount.  

The survey of holiday gift spending intentions, based on a probability-design random sample, is conducted for The Conference Board by Nielsen, a leading global provider of information and analytics around what consumers buy and watch. The survey was conducted for The Conference Board in October as part of the Consumer Confidence Survey®. 

“This holiday season has all the makings of a good one,” says Lynn Franco, Senior Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board. “Consumers are gearing up for the holidays, with signs indicating they will not reign in their spending. Consumer confidence is at historically strong levels, the job market remains solid, and the economy is in a record-breaking year of expansion. Retailers should expect strong demand this season. However, as we have come to expect, consumers will be discerning when spending. Most will expect bargains, comparison shop, and wait up to the last minute for steep discounts. Online merchants are poised to see increased traffic, as the percentage of consumers clicking and shipping continues to grow.” 

Approximately 10 percent of consumers plan to spend more this year on holiday gifts. The percent who plan to spend the same as last year increased from about 65 percent to 67 percent. A greater number of consumers will be shopping online, a growing trend for the past few years. Now, more than 41 percent of consumers are planning to make at least half of their purchases online.

Source: The Conference Board Holiday Spending Survey, November 2019

Release #6135

About The Conference Board

The Conference Board is the member-driven think tank that delivers trusted insights for what’s ahead. Founded in 1916, we are a non-partisan, not-for-profit entity holding 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt status in the United States. www.conference-board.org.

About NIELSEN

Nielsen Holdings plc (NYSE: NLSN) is a global performance management company that provides a comprehensive understanding of what consumers watch and buy. Nielsen's Watch segment provides media and advertising clients with Total Audience measurement services for all devices on which content — video, audio and text — is consumed. The Buy segment offers consumer packaged goods manufacturers and retailers the industry's only global view of retail performance measurement. By integrating information from its Watch and Buy segments and other data sources, Nielsen also provides its clients with analytics that help improve performance. Nielsen, an S&P 500 company, has operations in over 100 countries, covering more than 90 percent of the world’s population. For more information, visit www.nielsen.com.