HOBOKEN, N.J.–Americans expect to spend more—and in some cases, borrow more–this holiday season.
The annual Cost of Christmas survey has been released by LendEDU (http://www.lendedu.com) and it shows most American consumers are feeling pretty jolly as the holidays approach.
The key findings included:
- The average American expects to spend $633 on Christmas in 2018, with $341.82 (54%) going towards gifts, $132.93 (21%) going towards travel, $88.62 (14%) going towards other expenses, and $69.63 (11%) going towards decorations
- 22% of respondents indicated that they expect to go into debt due to holiday shopping, while 72% did not, and 6% opted not to say
- Among those who expect to take on debt, the average amount of debt expected to be taken on was $554. Amongst just respondents that are expecting debt, they will be spending an average of $836 on all things Christmas
- 51% of respondents said they will do their shopping at the store, while 46% said online, 1% said from catalogs, and 2% want to make their gifts
The full report can be found here.