PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Ready or not, the holiday shopping season is upon us.
The impacts of inflation had many retailers worried about whether consumers would be spending much, even with significant deals in place. Despite inflation hardships, a recent survey says shoppers are still planning to spend a pretty penny.
According to a Deloitte survey, shoppers in the Northeast region of the U.S. are expected to spend, on average, $1,792 for the holidays. Philadelphia-area holiday spending is projected much higher, at $1,842 — up about 20% from last year.
Even while keeping the spirit of giving alive, shoppers are tightening their budgets by hunting for deals. Deloitte found that 70% of Philadelphia-area shoppers expect to spend more this year but plan to budget about the same amount as last year.
“People are watching their pennies and they’re trying to get the most bang for their buck this holiday season,” said Sheri Lambert, associate professor of marketing at Temple University.
There’s a nostalgia factor in the gift-giving season too. People buy toys, electronics or other items they wanted when they were younger. “Mattel is getting a lot of halo effects from the ‘Barbie’ movie in July,” she noted.
Some shopping deals actually started in October. Others began as early as Labor Day. Consumers took advantage of both.
“Truly, people have started spending earlier this year,” said Lambert. “And I think it is this whole idea of spreading it out — it doesn’t seem so painful.”
Jenna Pogorzelski, audit managing director at Deloitte in Philadelphia, said Black Friday and Cyber Monday are making a big comeback.
“Seventy-six percent of shoppers plan to shop Thanksgiving week as a whole,” she said, “and that's compared to 52% last year, which really shows that folks are actively looking for deals to make sure they’re making spirits brighter without making their wallets much lighter.”