Americans Plan to Spend More this Holiday Season
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iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — How much do you plan on spending when the holiday shopping season rolls around?
Based on a survey of 500 consumers by the consulting and outsourcing firm Accenture, Americans plan on spending an average of $646 on gifts. That’s an increase of 11 percent over the 2012 average of $582.
The bump is actually being driven by the 20 percent of consumers who say they’ll spend more than 2012. Last year, just 14 percent planned to boost their spending compared to 2011.
As has become custom, especially in recent years, people will also keep their eyes open for big discounts throughout the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. In fact, 94 percent say lower prices and sales are important to them, compared to 84 percent who felt that way during the last holiday season.
Meanwhile, the allure of Black Friday has returned with 55 percent of survey respondents circling Nov. 29 for shopping. In 2012, it was 53 percent and just 44 percent in 2011. However, at least 30 percent of the shopping on Black Friday will be done online, a boost of 5 percent over last year.
And if you think Americans will just be hanging around their homes on Thanksgiving Day stuffing themselves and watching football, guess again. Thirty-eight percent claim they’ll be doing some shopping on Turkey Day.
Of course, plans can change since Accenture took the survey weeks before the partial government shutdown and the threat of the U.S. government defaulting on its debts.
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