New Englanders plan to shell out 24 percent more on holiday related spending this year than last as their mood brightens over the prospect of the economy moving out of a recession.
That’s one conclusion of the 24th annual holiday survey from Deloitte, a global firm that provides audit, consulting, financial advisory, risk management, and tax services to clients. The survey polled a sample of 10,878 US consumers, and Deloitte further broke out results by regions.
Survey respondents in New England said they expect to spend $1,131 on holiday related purchases. That’s a 24 percent increase over last year when New England respondents told Deloitte they planned to spend $910.
Nationally, consumer respondents told Deloitte that they plan to spend, on average, $1,145 on holiday related purchases, up 16 percent from last year when respondents told Deloitte they planned to spend $987 on the holidays.
One shift from last year: New Englanders plan to spend less on gifts and more on socializing, holiday entertaining, and home furnishings.
From the Boston Globe today:
Most of their gift-giving will be concentrated in gift cards and gift certificates, clothing, and books. Technology-related gift items were shown to be growing in popularity.
Looking at the nation at large, Deloitte said that gift cards will continue to be popular and that many consumers will shift their purchases from department stores to discount chains.
Source: Boston Globe(Globe Staff)
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