WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A new survey has found that consumers are planning to spend an average of $1,047.83 this holiday season, a 4 percent increase from last year.
Shoppers in the age group of 35-44 will be spending the most - $1,158.63, according to the annual survey conducted by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics.
Consumers are in good financial shape and willing to spend a little more on gifts for the special people in their lives this holiday season, NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. He noted that retailers are expected to import record volumes of consumer goods from China before new tariffs that the US Government imposed on that country come into force on December 15.
NRF's annual holiday spending forecast had estimated that holiday retail sales in November and December will be up between 3.8 percent and 4.2 percent over 2018, amounting to around $730 billion.
Consumers will spend mainly in three categories during the holidays, the survey says: gifts for family, friends and co-workers, at an average of $658.55; non-gift holiday items such as candy and food, decorations, greeting cards and flowers at $227.26; and other non-gift purchases that take advantage of the deals and promotions throughout the season at $162.02.
More than half of shoppers between the ages of 25 and 34 (52 percent) plan to purchase gifts for co-workers, and 82 percent of those between 18 and 24 plan to buy gifts for their friends.
56 percent of holiday shoppers say they will shop online.
For most of the respondents, sales and discounts remain the largest factor in choosing a particular retailer during the holidays.
Like in the previous years, gift cards remain the most popular items on wish lists, sought by 59 percent of those surveyed. Clothing and accessories are the second most popular at 52 percent, followed by books, movies, music and video games at 35 percent.
The Washington-based National Retail Federation is the world's largest retail trade association.
Prosper Insights & Analytics provide global authoritative market information on U.S. and China consumers.
The survey was conducted among 7782 consumers during October 1-10.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2019 AFX News
