It seems even Santa is tightening his belt this year, what with high inflation and interest rates rising faster than Rudolph and his reindeer buds.
According to JungleScout’s Consumer Trends Report survey of 1,000 American consumers, 54% say they’re spending less per person on gifts this year.
Fifty-two percent say their income is “unstable” this year, and 47% say they’ll stop splurging on “fun” or “impulse” items. In fact, household incomes below $50,000 explained they’re planning to cut their holiday spending by a whopping 42%.
Nearly half of the respondents, 47%, will be specifically picking up gifts on discount; 21% say they’ll be re-gifting/recycling gifts to stock those stockings, and 25% will be buying used or thrift store gifts.
The frugality isn’t just for gift-giving, however: 36% say they’re spending less on holiday decorating, and nearly as many, 34%, say they’re cutting back on holiday travel and visits to holiday attractions.
The survey also said that 30% of people anticipated they’d be spending less this year, and started shopping early. In fact, 70% of those polled started shopping for the holidays before Thanksgiving, compared to just 55% in 2021 who said they did so.
The survey also revealed that 67% said Amazon was their primary way to buy gifts. For those who still like shopping in person, a majority 56% were looking for deals at Walmart.
Survey questions, methodology and results have not been verified or endorsed by ABC News or The Walt Disney Company.