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Americans May Be Spending Less This Holiday Season

By Martin H. Bosworth
ConsumerAffairs.com

November 22, 2005

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A survey suggests American shoppers may be spending less this holiday season. The Consumer Federation of America (CFA) and the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) say they found 30 percent of respondents were going to be spending less on holiday gifts than in 2004.

Only 14 percent of respondents will be spending more, and 51 percent said their spending habits would remain the same.

The poll was conducted Nov.10-13, from a spread of 1,000 adult Americans, according to the poll authors. The margin of error was plus or minus 3 percent.

The chief reason cited for decreased holiday spending by the poll respondents was concern over high energy and gasoline prices. 41 percent of the respondents, or four out of every ten, stated that gasoline and home heating costs would contribute to lower spending for holiday purchases.

Concerns over credit card debt also contributed to the results. 25 percent of the respondents said they were "somewhat or very concerned" about paying off their credit card debt from holiday purchases—an increase from 22 percent in 2004.

Concern over rising debt was highest in the "middle middle" income range, those making between $35,000 and $50,000 a year.

The CFA/CUNA poll comes on the heels of a National Retail Federation (NRF) poll that indicated fewer Americans will be using credit cards to shop this holiday season, with most preferring to use cash or debit cards to buy their gifts.

A similar poll conducted by Myvesta found that consumers would be spending slightly more money this season, but the final outcome may be that shoppers simply don't have the money to increase their holiday buying significantly over than last year.

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