While Christmas is the time of giving, a new poll has found that U.S. consumers are planning on cutting back how much they spend this holiday season.
The CNBC-Morning Consult survey found that not only has 92% of adults reduced their spending over the past six months, but 76% said they plan on cutting back how much they’ll spend on non-essential items over the holiday season.
The pollsters also found that 62% of adults plan to cut back on essential items “sometimes” or “more often” over the next six months.
However, the survey comes as forecasters like eMarketer predict that overall retail spending will increase 4.5% to $1.3 trillion this holiday season.
The forecasters say they are expecting nearly 20% of all sales to come from e-commerce. Overall, the sales from this holiday season are expected to contribute to 48.5% of incremental spending gains.
Still, the projections for spending come as Americans have already been cutting back on essential and nonessential spending due to the rise in prices caused by inflation.
Over the past six months, 63% of adults have reduced their spending on apparel, 62% on restaurants and bars, 56% on entertainment outside the home, 54% on groceries, 53% on vacations, and 50% on electronics.
The poll also found that 55% of households earning $50,000 or less reported feeling the impact of the economy on their personal finances, while 61% of households making $50,000 to $100,000 and 46% of households making at least $100,000 reported the same.
The survey was conducted last week and included responses from 4,403 U.S. adults.