Christmas Spending Statistics 2026: 50 Facts on Budgets, Gifts and Debt

Christmas is the biggest shopping season of the year. Budgets, gifts and deals shape it more than anything else.

Surveys disagree on what an average American spends, because each one counts something different. Sales data tells a clearer story. The best-known forecast is the yearly holiday survey from the National Retail Federation.

This page collects the most reliable US numbers on holiday sales, gift budgets, online shopping, Black Friday and debt. Every figure links to its source. For travel, food, music and other traditions, see our wider holiday statistics.

The big picture: total holiday sales

1. Holiday sales passed $1 trillion for the first time

US retail sales from November 1 through December 31, 2025 grew 4.1% and exceeded $1 trillion for the first time. That landed inside the NRF forecast range of 3.7% to 4.2%.¹

2. Mastercard measured 3.9% growth

Mastercard SpendingPulse put US retail sales excluding automotive up 3.9% year over year from November 1 through December 21, 2025. The figure is not adjusted for inflation.⁵

3. Online sales grew more than twice as fast as store sales

In the same Mastercard data, e-commerce sales rose 7.4% while in-store sales rose 2.9%.⁵

4. Apparel, restaurants and jewelry all grew

Apparel spending climbed 7.8% (online 8.5%, in-store 7.0%), restaurant spending grew 5.2% and jewelry rose 1.6%.⁵

5. Deloitte forecasts $1.70 trillion for 2026

Deloitte expects holiday retail sales of $1.70 to $1.71 trillion from November 2026 through January 2027, an increase of 4.0% to 4.8% on the year before. Last year growth was 4.1%.⁶

6. E-commerce is forecast to reach about $317 billion

Deloitte projects holiday e-commerce sales of $316.1 billion to $318.9 billion, up 7.5% to 8.4% year over year.⁶

What Americans plan to spend

7. NRF: $890.49 per person

In an NRF survey of 8,247 adults in early October 2025, consumers planned to spend an average of $890.49 on gifts, food, decorations and other seasonal items. That is the second highest figure in the survey's 23 year history and 1.3% below the 2024 record of $901.99.²

8. About $628 of that goes to gifts

Of the $890.49, consumers expected to spend $627.93 on gifts for family and friends. The other $262.56 went to food, candy, decorations and cards.²

9. Gallup: $1,007 on gifts alone

A Gallup poll from October 1 to 16, 2025 found that Americans expected to spend an average of $1,007 on gifts. That compares with $1,014 a year earlier and $923 in 2023.⁷

10. 86% plan to buy gifts

In the same Gallup poll, 86% of Americans said they planned to buy gifts, while 8% said they would spend nothing or did not celebrate.⁷

11. More than a third expect to spend $1,000 or more

Gallup found that 37% of Americans planned to spend $1,000 or more on gifts, 18% planned $500 to $999 and 31% planned up to $499.⁷

12. Deloitte: $1,595 per household, down 10%

Deloitte surveyed 4,270 consumers in late summer 2025. They planned to spend $1,595 on average across gifts, experiences and other seasonal items, 10% less than a year earlier. The average number of gifts fell from 9 to 8.⁸

13. A broader count gives $2,800

A BMO and Ipsos survey of 2,500 adults found a planned holiday total of $2,800. That figure also includes groceries ($590), travel ($490) and dining out ($220), so it is not comparable to a gift budget.⁹

14. 84% expect to spend over $100 on Christmas

A Numerator survey of more than 5,300 consumers in January 2026 found that 84% expect to spend over $100 on Christmas. Most expect to spend over $50 on other holidays.¹⁰

Who is cutting back

15. Most people plan to spend the same

In Gallup's October 2025 poll, 56% expected to spend about the same on gifts as the year before, 19% more and 23% less.⁷

16. Income splits the budgets

Households earning under $50,000 expected to spend $651 on gifts in 2025, down from $776. Households earning $100,000 or more expected $1,479, up from $1,403.⁷

17. Gen Z cut the most

Deloitte found that Gen Z planned to cut holiday spending by 34% in 2025, millennials by 13%, while Gen X planned to spend 3% more.⁸

18. Goods fell more than experiences

Deloitte respondents planned to spend 14% less on retail goods and 6% less on experiences. Spending on non-gift items such as hosting, clothing and decor dropped 22%.⁸ The biggest decor item has its own page: our Christmas tree statistics.

19. 85% expected higher prices from tariffs

In the NRF survey, 85% of consumers said they anticipated higher prices because of tariffs.²

20. Inflation weighed on 65% of shoppers

In a Morning Consult poll of at least 2,174 adults in September 2025, 65% of shoppers said inflation was affecting their holiday spending.¹¹

21. Inflation was 3.4% in August 2026

US consumer prices were 3.4% higher in August 2026 than a year earlier. Apparel prices were up 3.6%.¹²

What people buy and want

22. Gift cards top the wish list

In the NRF survey, 50% of consumers named gift cards as the gift they most wanted to receive. Clothing followed at 46%, books and media at 27%, beauty and personal care at 23% and electronics at 22%.²

23. What gift givers actually buy

In YouGov US data, gift givers bought clothes and shoes (53%), toys and games (41%), gift cards (39%), food and snacks (33%) and books (28%).¹³

24. Thanksgiving weekend shoppers bought clothing first

Among people who shopped over Thanksgiving weekend 2025, 51% bought clothing or accessories, 32% toys, 28% books or media and 26% gift cards.⁴

25. Toy sales rose 7% before the holidays

Circana reports that US toy dollar sales were up 7% from January to September 2025, with units up 3% and average prices up 4%. Collectibles (+33%) and licensed toys (+14%) drove the growth.¹⁴

26. Younger adults accept secondhand gifts

In a December 2025 AP-NORC poll, 73% of adults aged 18 to 45 said secondhand gifts are appropriate, against 58% of those older than 45.¹⁵

Online, mobile and in store

27. 56% of gifts were planned online

Deloitte respondents expected to buy 56% of their gifts online and 44% in stores. By budget, big box retailers took 39% and online retailers 36%.⁸

28. Online stores are the top destination

The NRF survey found that 55% of consumers planned to shop at online stores, ahead of grocery stores (46%), department stores (44%) and discount stores (42%).²

29. E-commerce is now 17.1% of US retail

The Census Bureau counted $340.2 billion in e-commerce sales in the second quarter of 2026, or 17.1% of all retail sales. That is 12.2% more than in the second quarter of 2025.¹⁶

30. Most online sales happen on a phone

In 2025, 56.4% of online holiday transactions took place on a smartphone, up from 54.5% in 2024. On Christmas Day the share reached 66.5%.³

31. AI tools sent 693% more traffic to retail sites

Adobe measured a 693.4% rise in traffic to US retail sites from generative AI tools during the 2025 holiday season. For 2026 it expects a further 130% increase.³

When people shop

32. 42% start before November

The NRF survey found that 42% of consumers planned to begin holiday shopping before November. Their top reasons were to spread out spending (54%) and to avoid last minute stress (41%).²

33. Half of the shopping was done by early December

By early December 2025, consumers had completed 51% of their holiday shopping on average, NRF reported.¹⁷

34. 59% of parents had started by late September

In September 2025, 59% of parents told Morning Consult they had already started buying holiday gifts.¹¹

35. Thanksgiving weekend plans rose to 63%

NRF found that 63% of consumers planned to shop over Thanksgiving weekend 2025, up from 59% the year before.²

36. October is turning into a holiday month

Adobe expects $95.8 billion in online spending in October 2026, up 8%. The Prime Day event on October 6 and 7 alone is forecast at $9.9 billion.¹⁸ How the December countdown itself sells is covered in our advent calendar statistics.

Black Friday and Cyber Week

37. A record 202.9 million shoppers

NRF and Prosper Insights found that 202.9 million consumers shopped between Thanksgiving Day and Cyber Monday in 2025, up from 197 million in 2024.⁴

38. Black Friday shoppers: 85.7 million online, 80.3 million in stores

Black Friday remained the top day for both channels, though both counts were slightly below 2024 (87.3 million online and 81.7 million in stores).⁴

39. $337.86 per shopper

The average Thanksgiving weekend shopper spent $337.86 in 2025, up from $315.56. Gifts made up $225.74, or 67%, of that.⁴

40. Cyber Monday: $14.25 billion online

Cyber Monday 2025 remained the biggest online day of the year with $14.25 billion, up 7.1%. Black Friday grew faster, by 9.1% to $11.8 billion.³

41. Toys were discounted by nearly 30%

Online discounts in 2025 peaked at 30.9% off in electronics and 29.6% off in toys, followed by apparel at 25.1%.³

42. A record $257.8 billion online

US consumers spent $257.8 billion online from November 1 to December 31, 2025, up 6.8%. On 25 days they spent more than $4 billion in a single day.³

43. Adobe forecasts $275.1 billion for 2026

Adobe expects online holiday sales of $275.1 billion in 2026, up 6.7%. Cyber Week is forecast at $47.5 billion, or 17.3% of the season.¹⁸

44. Black Friday is growing faster than Cyber Monday

For 2026 Adobe forecasts $15.1 billion on Cyber Monday (up 6.2%) and $12.9 billion on Black Friday (up 9.2%), driven by earlier discounts.¹⁸

Debt, credit and returns

45. 37% took on holiday debt

A LendingTree survey found that 37% of US consumers took on holiday debt in 2025. They borrowed $1,223 on average, up from $1,181 the year before and the highest since 2022.¹⁹

46. Credit card balances reached $1.233 trillion

US credit card balances stood at $1.233 trillion at the end of September 2025, $24 billion more than in the previous quarter.²⁰

47. 4.5% of household debt was delinquent

The New York Fed reported that 4.5% of outstanding household debt was in some stage of delinquency at the end of Q3 2025. Total household debt was $18.585 trillion.²⁰

48. 42% sacrificed long-term savings

In the BMO and Ipsos survey, 42% of Americans said they were sacrificing long-term savings to cover holiday costs, and 53% felt financial anxiety about holiday spending.⁹ More on the emotional side in our Christmas stress and loneliness statistics.

49. Buy now, pay later passed $20 billion

Buy now, pay later financed $20 billion of online holiday sales in 2025, according to Adobe. For 2026 it expects over $21 billion.³

50. Returns are expected to reach $849.9 billion

NRF forecast a 15.8% return rate and $849.9 billion in returned merchandise for 2025, and expected 17% of holiday sales to come back.²¹ More on that in our unwanted Christmas gifts statistics.

What the numbers mean for businesses

Three things stand out. Shoppers start early, and many spread their spending over months. They look for value, and many cut back on extras rather than on gifts. Attention is also expensive in a season when online sales, mobile traffic and discounts all peak at once.

A digital advent calendar fits that picture. It gives customers a reason to return every day in December without a bigger discount. See how it works for customers, as a marketing campaign or for employees, where small daily gestures matter when budgets are tight. Our workplace Christmas statistics cover the office side.

My take

Frequently asked questions

How much does the average American spend on Christmas?

It depends on what is counted. NRF found $890.49 per person for gifts, food and decorations in 2025. Gallup found $1,007 on gifts alone, and Deloitte found $1,595 per household across gifts, experiences and other items.

How much will Americans spend online at Christmas in 2026?

Adobe forecasts a record $275.1 billion in US online sales from November 1 to December 31, 2026, up 6.7% from $257.8 billion in 2025.

What are the most popular Christmas gifts in the US?

Clothing and gift cards lead. In the NRF survey, 50% of consumers wanted gift cards and 46% wanted clothing. Among Thanksgiving weekend shoppers, 51% bought clothing and 32% toys.

When do Americans start Christmas shopping?

42% planned to start before November in the NRF survey, and 51% of shopping was done by early December. Black Friday weekend drew a record 202.9 million shoppers in 2025.

How many Americans go into debt for Christmas?

In a LendingTree survey, 37% took on holiday debt in 2025, averaging $1,223.

How big are Black Friday and Cyber Monday online?

In 2025, Cyber Monday brought $14.25 billion in online sales and Black Friday $11.8 billion, according to Adobe. For 2026 Adobe forecasts $15.1 billion and $12.9 billion.

Where can I use these statistics?

You are welcome to quote them in articles, reports, newsletters and presentations. Please link to this page as the source.

Sources

1. 1FashionUnited, citing NRF, holiday sales 2025 (fashionunited.com)
2. 2NRF, Holiday survey 2025 (nrf.com)
3. 3Adobe Analytics, 2025 holiday shopping season recap (news.adobe.com)
4. 4NRF and Prosper Insights, Thanksgiving weekend 2025 (nrf.com)
5. 5Mastercard SpendingPulse, Holiday retail sales 2025 (mastercard.com)
6. 6Deloitte, Holiday retail sales forecast 2026 (deloitte.com)
7. 7Gallup, Holiday shoppers plan to spend briskly 2025 (news.gallup.com)
8. 8Deloitte, Holiday retail survey 2025 (deloitte.com)
9. 9BMO and Ipsos, Real Financial Progress Index holiday survey 2025 (usnewsroom.bmo.com)
10. 10Numerator, 2026 annual consumer holiday preview (retailers.com)
11. 11Morning Consult, 2025 holiday shopping outlook (morningconsult.com)
12. 12BLS, Consumer Price Index news release August 2026 (bls.gov)
13. 13YouGov US, Holiday shopping 2025 (yougov.com)
14. 14The Toy Association, citing Circana, toy sales 2025 (toyassociation.org)
15. 15AP-NORC, Holiday gift giving poll December 2025 (apnorc.org)
16. 16US Census Bureau, Quarterly retail e-commerce, Q2 2026 (census.gov)
17. 17NRF, Winter holidays data and trends 2025 (nrf.com)
18. 18Adobe Analytics, 2026 holiday season forecast (news.adobe.com)
19. 19RetailWire, citing LendingTree, holiday debt 2025 (retailwire.com)
20. 20New York Fed, Household debt and credit report Q3 2025 (newyorkfed.org)
21. 21NRF and Happy Returns, Retail returns landscape 2025 (nrf.com)