U.S. consumers are expected to spend slightly more on gifts this holiday season compared with 2013 spending, but the spending doesn’t match the levels recorded before the recession, according to a Gallup survey released Monday.
Consumers are expected to spend an average of $720 on gifts this year, up from the $704 average recorded last year.
The new prediction less optimistic than the findings of an October Gallup poll placing the anticipated per-person spending at $781 this season.
{mosads}Gallup said the new prediction is also well below the November survey from earlier years, including 2006 and 2007, when people spent more than $800 on presents.
This year, a quarter of people plan to spend $1000 or more on gifts and just under a quarter plan to buy $250 worth of presents. Twenty-one percent said they will spend at least $500 and 15 percent said they will dole out between $250 and $499.
Nine percent of people told Gallup they don’t plan on spending anything this year or don’t plan on celebrating Christmas.
Sales are expected to go up 3 percent this year, but it barely hits the 14-year average of 3.1 percent, Gallup said.
The poll surveyed 1,019 adults between Nov. 19-20 with a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.