The holidays are a busy time for most Americans: shopping, traveling, visiting, and eating lots of holiday goodies.
AAA predicts 122.4 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles from home over the 13-day year-end holiday period beginning December 20 and ending January 1. This year’s forecast is a 2.2 percent increase over 2024, surpassing last year’s record of 119.7 million travelers.
About 109.5 million Americans will travel by car for their year-end trips, an increase of 2 percent compared to last year, the travel organization estimates.
AAA also predicts a record 8.03 million travelers will take domestic flights this holiday season, a 2.3 percent increase compared to last year.
For shopping, the National Retail Federation predicts that retail sales for the holidays will grow between 3.7 percent and 4.2 percent over 2024. That means total spending will be between $1.01 trillion and $1.02 trillion. Last year’s holiday sales rose 4.3 percent over 2023 to reach $976.1 billion. It’s the first time that holiday spending in the United States has been more than a trillion dollars.
A survey for the federation found that consumers plan to spend $890.49 per person on average this year on holiday gifts, food, decorations, and other seasonal items. The amount is the second highest in the survey’s 23-year history.
Wallet Hub, a personal finance website, found in a survey that two in three Americans say the economy will make the holidays less fun this year.
About 85 percent of people indicated they’ll spend the same amount or less on the holidays this year compared to last year.
Other findings from the WalletHub survey:
- About 33 percent of people will apply for a new credit card to help with holiday shopping this year.
- Three in five Americans say their charitable giving is affected by inflation.
- More than four in five people say budgeting in advance helps during the holidays.
- About 60 percent of Americans say they would enjoy the holidays more if people didn’t exchange gifts.
Happy holidays.
