Holiday Spending on Home?
October 29, 2009The 24th annual Holiday Survey of retail spending trends from New York-based consultant Deloitte LLP might have good news for furniture retailers.
The survey indicates that while consumers are warming up to spending, gift giving is expected to decline, but some plan to increase spending on their home.
More than half of those surveyed (54 percent) said they expect the economy will improve in 2010, compared with 28 percent responding favorably last year. More than half of consumers (51 percent) hope to spend more or the same on the holidays, an improvement from last year's 41 percent response.
Despite expectations for economic improvement, consumers continue to reduce their spending on gifts. The average number of gifts people plan to purchase declined to 18.2 from 21.5 last year and 23.1 in 2007. The amount consumers plan to spend on gifts is down as well, to $452 compared with $532 in 2008, and $569 in 2007.
Consumers, however, do appear willing to increase their spending on the non-gift items that traditionally account for a smaller portion of the holiday budget. These categories include socializing away from home, entertaining, non-gift clothing and home/holiday furnishings. These increases lift consumers' total anticipated holiday spend to $1,145, which is a 16 percent increase over last year.
