Americans plan to spend big this holiday season. The survey of over 1,000 consumers revealed an expected 31.7 per cent uptick in holiday budgets in 2024, totalling $1,261 per shopper for gifts, holiday food and décor, and experiences, the UK-headquartered global real estate services company said in its survey report.

Over the past couple of years, it has also been observed shoppers focus less on giving and more on living. Shoppers embrace feasting and fun.

More than 95 per cent of respondents surveyed plan to participate in at least one holiday-related experience, which is more than last year.

Stores increase in relevance for the holidays. Approximately 71 per cent of shoppers will use two or more channels to cross off their holiday lists, and most will interact in some way with stores. In fact, only 12.8 per cent of holiday shoppers will exclusively order online for home delivery.

Shoppers become their own Santas. Every year, an increase in the percentage of shoppers buying something for themselves during the season is noticed. Roughly 83 per cent of holiday shoppers this year plan to give themselves a little something this year compared to 76.2 per cent in 2023.

Deal days gain traction. More shoppers are heading to stores on deal days this year than they did in 2023. High-income shoppers were more likely to head to stores on big deal days like Thanksgiving, Black Friday weekend and Super Saturday. Gen Z are also much more likely (71.2 per cent of respondents) to head to stores on Black Friday.

The longer consumers spend at the shopping center, the more likely they are to spend more on experiences as well as other holiday goods like food & décor. In contrast, big spenders on gifts tend to spend a shorter time, perhaps because they have already decided what to get before they head to the store.

Roughly 65 per cent of high-income earners will start shopping before Halloween compared to only half of moderate-income shoppers ($50,000-$150,000) and 41.6 per cent of modest earners (less than $50,000).

In fact, a higher proportion of shoppers earning under $150,000 will begin their shopping during Black Friday weekend, when deals are prevalent.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)