While we may still be in October, before you know it the holiday season will be upon us, and it looks like folks will be spending a lot this year.
A new Deloitte holiday spending survey finds:
- The average amount spent is $1,496 per household during the Christmas season!
- 78% plan to spend the same or more than last year.
- The bulk of that money, about $596, will be spent on experiences, including entertaining at home and socializing away from home.
- Another $511 will be spent on gift purchases, while $389 will be spent on non-gift purchases, like clothing and furnishing for oneself.
As for when and where they’ll be spending their money, the survey notes:
- All ages of consumers are more likely to shop on Cyber Monday than on Black Friday.
- Nearly 70% of big spenders begin their shopping before Thanksgiving.
- 59% of people will spend their holiday money online, while 36% will shop in store.
When I read that the average household will spend around $1500 I thought 'dang we have a lot of people about to go broke'! But then I saw this The top 20% of spenders account for 60% of total dollars. So it's a reminder that average is a misleading word. What we really care is the median amount. But either way it's more than $500,000,000,000 (500 billion) spent over a little more than a month!