Highlights. The average American spends around $1,000 for the winter holiday season, most of it on gift shopping.
- American holiday shoppers will spend $961.96 billion in 2023; projections indicate that by 2030, winter holiday* spending will total $1.271 trillion.
- The average American consumer budgets around $620 for holiday gifts alone.
- Including travel and entertainment expenses, the average consumer spends $1,530 throughout the holiday season.
*This refers to all winter holidays, including (but not limited to) Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Las Posadas, New Year’s Eve, and other holidays on or around the Winter Solstice.
2023 Holiday Shopping Statistics
As many as 72% of American consumers plan to spend more on the holidays in 2023 than they did in 2022.
- Projections indicate that U.S. shoppers will spend 2.74% more on holiday shopping in 2023 than they did in 2022.
- 95% of American consumers plan to shop for the holidays in 2023, up 3.26% year-over-year (YoY) from 2022 (when 92% planned to shop).
- 31% of shoppers planned to spend less in 2023 than they spent in 2022; 20% of shoppers planned to spend more.
- 43% of Americans began their 2023 holiday shopping in October.
- 46% of holiday shoppers plan to purchase at least half of seasonal gifts online, up 17.9% YoY.
- From October 1 into the first week of November 2023, Americans spent an estimated $95 billion on online holiday shopping.
- $7.8 billion (8.21%) of holiday purchases from October 1 to November 6 are through Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services.
Holiday Spending Statistics
From 2020 to 2022, retail and supply chain disruptions influenced holiday shopping and spending patterns.
- In 2022, U.S. holiday spending totaled $936.3 billion, up 5.29% YoY.
- Retail sales over the 2021 winter holiday shopping season totaled $886.7 billion.
- Holiday season retail sales increased 14.1% year-over-year (YoY) in 2021.
- From 2013 to 2023, $834 was the 10-year average amount shoppers spent over the holiday season.
- Consumers spend an average of $255 during the holidays on seasonal items such as decorations, cards, candy, and food.
- Shoppers are less inclined to spend money on other non-gift purchases during the holiday season, with the average non-gift budget shrinking 27.2% from 2019 (pre-pandemic) to 2021.
| Year | Sales Dollars (in billions) |
%Change YoY |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | $936.3 | 5.29% |
| 2021 | $889.3 | 13.52% |
| 2020 | $783.4 | 9.31% |
| 2019 | $716.7 | 3.60% |
| 2018 | $691.8 | 2.08% |
| 2017 | $677.7 | 4.79% |
| 2016 | $646.7 | 2.96% |
| 2015 | $628.1 | 2.77% |
| 2014 | $611.2 | 4.78% |
| 2013 | $583.3 | 2.77% |
| 2012 | $567.6 | 2.58% |
| 2011 | $553.3 | 4.63% |
| 2010 | $528.8 | 5.19% |
| 2009 | $502.7 | 0.24% |
| 2008 | $501.5 | -4.66% |
| 2007 | $526.0 | 2.71% |
| 2006 | $512.1 | 3.25% |
Holiday Gift Shopping Statistics
The largest holiday expense for the average consumer is gift purchases.
- The average consumer budgeted $648.09 for holiday gifts in 2021.
- The average parents’ holiday gift budget includes at least $111 per child and up to $276 (#11) per child under the age of 18.
- Shoppers with romantic partners planned to spend $251 on gifts for their partner in 2021.
- In 2021, consumers each budgeted an average of $48.92 for gift cards, spending a nationwide total of $28.1 billion. (#1)
- Most online shoppers (65%) order items to be delivered versus picked up in-store.
Holiday Shopping Budget Statistics
In 2023, shoppers are more likely to increase spending on food and beverages (24%) than any other holiday spending category.
- 41% of shoppers plan to spend less on travel in 2023 while 16% plan to spend more.
- In 2022, adults thought they were 40% less likely to go into debt to complete their holiday shopping.
- 15% of adults said they would go into debt to finance their 2022 winter holiday shopping.
- 25% of adults said they would go into debt to finance their holidays in 2021.
- Adults are 27.3% more likely to use extra income or a bonus to finance their 2022 holidays.
- In 2022, consumers were 26.9% more likely to save throughout the year in order to finance the holiday season than they were in 2021.
Holiday Sales Event Statistics
Most holiday shopping is for gifts for family, friends, and co-workers.
- Holiday shoppers who made purchases over the 5-day Thanksgiving holiday weekend, (also known as Cyber Week or Cyber Weekend) spent an average of $301.27 each.
- Up to 49% of shoppers who buy holiday presents make purchases on Black Friday.
- 10% of holiday shoppers didn’t plan on shopping at all during Cyber Week.
- The Saturday before Christmas, also known as Super Saturday, is traditionally a large shopping day on which 11% of shoppers plan to make their final gift purchases.
- 42% of shoppers purchase their last holiday gift before Super Saturday.
- 5% of holiday shoppers purchase gifts after Christmas.
- Four (4) of the 10 largest nationwide retailers begin holiday sales in October and early November.
- Among the 25 largest retailers, at least 20% began holiday shopping events prior to Thanksgiving.
| Item Category | Lowest Discount* | Date of Lowest Discount |
|---|---|---|
| Toys | 34.1% | Saturday, November 26 |
| Electronics | 23.9% | Saturday, November 26 |
| Apparel | 19.8% | Friday, December 30 |
| Computers | 17.2% | Friday, November 25 |
| Appliances | 14.5% | Sunday, November 27 |
| Televisions | 13.0% | Tuesday, December 22 |
| Sporting Goods | 8.5% | Sunday, November 20 |
| Furniture | 6.0% | Sunday, November 27 |
*Compared to average prices on October 1.
Holiday Sales Statistics
Traditionally, the holiday shopping season begins November 1 and ends December 31.
- 24.7% of total holiday sales revenue includes online and non-store sales.
- Holiday shopping accounts for 19.3% of annual retail sales revenue.
- 52% of New Year’s Eve shoppers shopped at mass retailers.
- On 62.3% of 2021 holiday shopping days, daily retail sales returns surpassed $3 billion.
- Most consumers (57%) shop online for the holiday season.
- 43% of holiday sales revenue comes from mobile users shopping online.
- Retailers lost $158 billion to customer returns from the 2021 holiday season.
- $17 billion or 10.8% of customer return dollars were from fraudulent returns.
- 21.7% of annual revenue lost to return fraud is from the holiday season.
Holiday Shopping Statistics
Most consumers make holiday-related purchases at some point throughout November and December, and many start shopping even before the season begins.
- 61% of consumers begin holiday shopping by the first week of November.
- 49% of holiday shoppers make purchases during holiday sales before Thanksgiving.
- Holiday shoppers in 2021 were 8.9% more likely to begin shopping by early November than shoppers in 2019 (pre-pandemic).
- 43.2% of holiday shoppers finish at least half of their shopping before Thanksgiving.
- 94% of holiday shoppers purchase their last gift by Christmas Day.
- Consumers are 21.3% more likely to do their holiday shopping online than in any other store or shopping venue.
- As many as 41% of holiday shoppers don’t participate in large shopping events like Black Friday, Cyber Monday, or Super Saturday.
- 65% of consumers make plans to shop during the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day.
| Year | Estimated Seasonal Employees | Change YoY |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 365,000 | -15.8% |
| 2021 | 434,400 | -14.2% |
| 2020 | 506,200 | 1.79% |
| 2019 | 497,300 | 2.18% |
| 2018 | 486,700 | 0.25% |
| 2017 | 485,500 | -1.64% |
| 2016 | 493,600 | -5.80% |
| 2015 | 524,000 | -7.24% |
| 2014 | 564,900 | -9.86% |
| 2013 | 626,700 | 7.26% |
| 2012 | 584,300 | 7.29% |
Holiday Season Employment Statistics
Retailers and logistics companies hire more employees in anticipation of the holiday season.
- 10.7% of JC Penney’s 28,000 seasonal employees work exclusively in supply-chain and distribution centers.
- Macy’s hires 71,000 seasonal workers, with an estimated 32% employed in distribution centers.
- 56.1% of retailers advertise more staff positions to handle merchandise returns alone.
- Among these retailers, 26.1% aim to hire “significantly more” staff to handle returns.
- 20% of all holiday season retail hires in 2021 were 15- to 19-year-olds.
- Holiday employment among teenagers increased 122.2% from 2019.
- Employers added an estimated 477,000 seasonal retail positions in 2021.
These data and insights were compiled by the Capital One Shopping team based on publicly available data.
Sources
- National Retail Federation (NRF)
- Adobe Experience Cloud, Resources
- Time and Date, Monthly Calendar
- Statista, Retail & Trade
- Numerator, Cyber Weekend Recap
- AARP, 10 Great Reasons to Avoid Stores on Black Friday 2021
- USA Today, Stores Struggling to Hire Adults
- Reuters, ‘Black Friday’ Drags Through November Amid Tight Inventories
- Deloitte Insights, Holiday Retail Survey
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, One-Screen Data Search: Employment Hours and Earnings from the Current Employment Statistics Survey
- Credit Cards, Poll: Many Americans Say They’ll Decrease Their Holiday Spending in 2021
- Morning Consult
- PwC, Holiday Outlook 2023
- Conference Board, Press & Media