LendingTree Survey finds 1 in 4 Americans Struggle to Pay off Holiday Shopping Debt
After the 2014 holiday season, 41 percent of Americans had at least some financial regrets related to holiday spending. Of those with regrets, the most significant was shopping procrastination (38.3% of regretful shoppers), followed by not comparison shopping (27% of regretful shoppers), and overspending by not sticking to a budget (26.4% of regretful shoppers). Roughly 25 percent of regretful shoppers, or 10.28 percent of the total survey sample, admit to relying on credit cards or borrowed money to fund their holiday shopping last season.
"Many shoppers get wrapped up in the holiday season and overspend, leading to a debt load that becomes hard to manage with high interest rates that rack up," says
Although 64 percent state that they will spend
Compared to holiday spending last year, 69 percent plan to spend about the same amount on holiday gifts, 17 percent plan to spend less than last year and only 8.2 percent plan to spend more this year.
The reason why Americans may spend less this year is not fully clear, but personal finances may play a role. A little over 1 in 5 Americans (20.84%) generally feel their bank accounts are at least a little bit tight or feel they have to dig themselves out of a hole after the holidays.
"While the economy is improving, many Americans are still in a state of financial recovery regarding their finances," said
Included in the survey were expectations of what items consumers intended to spend more or less on this year compared to last. Every category included in the survey saw a net expectation of less spending, with the exception of gift cards, where marginally more people intend to spend more. When split by age, data showed the 18-29 group intends to spend significantly more on clothes this year compared to last, with 15.38 percent stating they will spend more and only 9.23 percent stating they would spend less.
Customer Expectations of Spending Compared to Last Year | ||||
More* |
Same* |
Less* |
Net Change | |
Clothing |
11.57% |
61.94% |
12.96% |
-1.39% |
Footwear |
5.00% |
49.81% |
22.04% |
-17.04% |
Jewelry and fashion accessories |
6.11% |
51.39% |
21.57% |
-15.46% |
Fragrances |
4.07% |
48.61% |
24.63% |
-20.56% |
Books |
11.20% |
54.54% |
15.09% |
-3.89% |
Movies (DVD, Blu-Ray) |
4.44% |
49.91% |
23.89% |
-19.45% |
Toys |
12.69% |
47.50% |
24.35% |
-11.66% |
Videos games and/or systems |
5.09% |
43.61% |
28.70% |
-23.61% |
Music |
3.98% |
49.17% |
22.96% |
-18.98% |
Food or beverages |
9.26% |
58.06% |
15.28% |
-6.02% |
Electronics |
10.09% |
50.74% |
20.74% |
-10.65% |
Sports equipment |
4.54% |
44.17% |
26.02% |
-21.48% |
Gift cards |
13.24% |
58.24% |
12.69% |
+0.55% |
*More, Same, and Less values do not total 100% as remaining respondents answered Unsure. |
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