Overview

• Consumers plan to spend an average of $1,552 on holiday gifts, travel and entertainment, down from $1,638 last year, according to PwC’s survey of about 4,000 adults.
• The decline is the first since 2020, with gift budgets taking the biggest hit at an 11% drop to $721 on average.
• Gen Z intends to reduce holiday outlays by 23%, a sharp swing from last year’s planned increase, while baby boomers expect to spend 5% more and other generations are roughly flat.
• Eighty-four percent of respondents expect to curb spending over the next six months, citing higher living costs and concerns that tariffs could lift prices.
• Retailers head into the season with uneven signals, as Walmart and Abercrombie & Fitch raised outlooks, Target, Best Buy and Home Depot held forecasts, and Mattel cut guidance, with tariff uncertainty easing since July.