Americans Are Super-Gloomy About Holiday Spending, But Industry Ramps Up for Blockbuster Christmas

[marmar]

Americans Are Super-Gloomy About Holiday Spending, But Industry Ramps Up for Blockbuster Christmas
by Wolf Richter • Oct 27, 2020 •

Something is afoot here. And someone is going to be wrong.
By Wolf Richter for WOLF STREET.


That would be embarrassing: There has been the massive surge in shipments to and within the US, amid warnings of shipping capacity shortages, as companies are stocking up for the holiday shopping season because they don’t want to run out of merchandise, following record retail sales over the past few months, along with supply shortages. Americans were spending their extra unemployment money and stimulus checks, and spending money on stuff that they didn’t spend on services such as vacations, flights, and hotels, and spending money they made working from home and in the stock market. The expectation in the industry is that this surge in retail spending would continue and lead to blockbuster holidays sales.

But now there’s the second major survey of consumer intentions that throws cold water on this thesis. Gallup asked consumers, as it does every year at this time, “Roughly how much money do you think you personally will spend on Christmas gifts this year?” The response on average was $805. That was down 17% from what folks told Gallup at the same time last year ($942), and the lowest since 2016 (there was no survey data for 2012), and the biggest year-over-year drop in the data going back to 2006:



This comes after the National Retail Federation had said last week, based on its annual October survey, that consumers on average expect to spend about $998 on gifts, holiday food and decorations, and additional “non-gift” purchases. This was down nearly 5% from the October 2019 survey.

The amount these folks said they’d spend on gifts was down just a tad from last year, and most of the decline in spending intentions came from non-gift items they’d buy for themselves or their families. ..............(more)

https://wolfstreet.com/2020/10/27/americans-are-super-gloomy-about-holiday-spending-industry-ramps-up-for-blockbuster-christmas/

[Historic NY]

1. With the uncertainity with Covid-19 I'm not rushing out to shop

except for the essentials to make it through. I been wanting to buy a new vehicle but even that is playing on my mind.

[redstatebluegirl]

2. We have decided to cut way back this year.

My husband's siblings and nieces and nephews are doing fine so they can buy for each other. My sister and brother in law are struggling so I am sending her some gift cards and a pair of earrings from an artist whose husband is a DU guy. She is feeling like she can't buy for her grandkids so I am hoping that the gift card from Target and Kohls will help with that angst. I want to make sure she has at least something under the tree.

I am scared about what next year will bring in higher ed. I am being let go at the end of December, I am planning to take full retirement at that point. My retirement isn't much because we moved so much but it is something as long as medicare and social security hold out we will be fine. My husband is much younger than I am so he has 10 years of worklife left as long as they still need science professors.

We are saving like the end of the world is upon us. We have cut back on everything we don't need. We are cooking at home which saves a lot of money (we were notorious for going out after work).

I made my husband call his siblings and tell them our plans for Christmas, no gift exchange and we won't be traveling to them this year. It may be nice you know??? No stress to find a gift they are going to give away, no stress of dealing with the holiday drama from my sister in law.

I love Christmas, just not the drama.

[onecaliberal]

3. They fail to understand the basic concept of supply and demand

[Warpy]

4. Industry is counting on another giveaway check going to Xmas presents

They have no idea how far behind a lot of people are on their bills.