Americans are expecting to spend an average of $975 this year, marking the highest holiday shopping estimate since the polling company started tracking it in 1999.
The lowest holiday spending projection was $616 during the 2008 financial crisis, Gallup noted.
The new estimate is also a significant jump from the 2022 average and previous record of $867, and Gallup added the average holiday spending estimate has hovered around $850 for the past four years.
Holiday spending estimates were also higher than they were in October, when Americans said they expected to spend an average of $923 during the holidays. Gallup notes this is just the fifth time since 2006 that those spending expectations have risen between October and November, when the survey was conducted.
Gallup surveyed 1,009 adults between Nov. 1-23, and the survey has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.
Middle-income and younger consumers account for a large portion of the jump in spending expectations. Those with household incomes between $40,000 and $99,999 said they plan to spend an average of $947 on gifts, a $200 leap from last year’s predictions.
In comparison, high-income Americans’ holiday spending plans held steady at $1,400, and low-income Americans said they plan to spend slightly less this year: $429, down from $477 last year.
Young shoppers — defined as those under 35 — said they expect to spend around $253 more on gifts this year than the 2022 average of $962.
Middle-aged consumers, those most likely to have children under the age of 18, expect to spend an average of $1,111, the most of any age group, the poll found.
The Hill’s Lauren Sforza has more here.
