With holidays around the corner, Americans are going to go shopping, but inflation and rising prices have taken a toll.
Consumers in the U.S. shared their spending plans, charitable contributions and holiday events during the holiday season, according to recent data.
In the last six months, household sentiment was comparable to late 2008 and early 2009 when the country saw an economic disaster and higher unemployment, according to an estimate by the University of Michigan. During that time, inflation climbed to double digits.
41% of Americans said they had difficulty paying for essential household expenses, compared to 29% a year ago, according to a survey of households by the Census Bureau.
Americans plan to buy an average of nine gifts this year, compared to 16 last year, according to Deloitte's 37th annual holiday shopping survey. They said they plan to spend less time shopping than they did last year.
Inflation is changing shopping habits, according to a survey by Bankrate.com in September, while 41% of people who earn less than $50,000 in annual household income agree with the sentiment, and 41% of shoppers who earn between $50,000 and $79,999.
Ted Rossman, Bankrate.com senior industry analyst, said holiday shopping will look different this year with inflation around 40 year highs.
The com study found that 43% of consumers plan to spend less on holiday shopping as of November, compared to their plans in September, and three out of five consumers plan to spend less on holiday shopping in 2022 than in 2021.
Consumer budgets for the holiday season are decreasing, with 75% planning to spend $1,000 or less this holiday season, according to the report.
The number of people looking to spend $500 has gone up by 24% since September as people tighten their wallets.
Holiday sales growth will slow to 6% to 8% from the 13.5% growth of a year ago, according to the National Retail Federation.
According to a report carried out by Black Friday.com, 70% of consumers will consider inflation when shopping this holiday season.