The holiday shopping season is here, here's what you need to know
SOUTH BEND, Ind.-- According to the American Psychiatric Association’s Healthy Minds Poll, Americans are more anxious about the upcoming holiday season compared to last year.
The poll says people are concerned about things like grief, finding or affording holiday gifts, or challenging family dynamics. On the other hand, people are excited about seeing family and friends, eating good food, and exchanging gifts.
However, the APA says overall, the economy is causing adults in the U.S. the most concern, with 75 percent of U.S. adults being very or somewhat anxious about the economy.
In terms of holiday-related concerns, 46% said they were worried about affording or finding holiday gifts.
John Talbott, Senior lecturer of Marketing at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business, says there have been a lot of moving parts, which could add to consumer concern during the already-stressful holiday season.
“We've heard about tariffs. There's been, you know, back and forth on the government being open, just a lot of noise, I would say—I think it just adds to the indigestion around the stress that exists anyway, that people want to do well, in terms of the things they acquire for those that they love, and that's a stressful enough situation. And just toss in a lot of uncertainty about whether we're going to be able to find it. What are prices going to be like? Will inventory be there? Those sorts of things,” said Talbott.
Talbott says uncertainty is really the bane of consumer spending, and consumer spending drives the U.S. economy.
In its holiday forecast, the National Retail Federation predicts that retail sales, this month and next, will grow between 3.7 and 4.2 percent over last year. The NRF says that equates to over $1 trillion in total spending.
In a holiday survey from the NRF, consumers plan to spend nearly 900 dollars, per person, on average on seasonal items, gift and food. The NRF says that’s the second-highest amount in the survey’s 23 years.
Talbott teaches a class on retail analytics and says one of the things they look at is averages.
“Averages can be misleading, so they're reporting an average spend, and what that could mean is that 85% of people are spending less, and 15% are spending a lot more, and that leads to a higher average. So that's probably more what I think is happening is that there's a group of households that are fully capable and are spending freely, and then there's another big block. So the median, I guess, would probably be in a very different place relative to the mean in that particular situation,” said Talbott.
Talbott says if there are specific gifts you want to buy, don't wait for a slightly better deal, get it while it's on the shelf, because if the item is popular, it won’t get marked down and could run out of stock.
“For all consumers, it's important to be conscious of what they are really capable of in terms of spending, so that they don't wake up with a January hangover in the form of a large credit card bill,” said Talbott.
Talbott also mentioned a change over the last 15 years or so, from people purchasing things to purchasing experiences.
“You can buy something, and the batteries might run out, might break, but if you do something great and enjoyable with your family and friends, and that's something you can take with you forever,” said Talbott.
Additionally, the NRF says secondhand gifting is growing more popular, as 85% of consumers say they expect higher prices for holiday gifts and items due to tariffs.