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According to a new survey from Splitit, Americans are already expressing financial concerns about the upcoming holiday season. Debt is the biggest source of stress, with 42% worried about how holiday shopping will fit into their budgets.
The majority of respondents (56%) said they plan on spending less than $500 for holiday shopping; 27% plan on spending $500-$1000, and 17% plan to spend over $1000. A survey from Swagbucks last year showed that 25% of shoppers incurred over $500 in holiday debt.
Aside from debt, 15% of consumers said they were worried about identity theft over the holiday shopping season. This is significantly lower than the 37% who reported these concerns in a 2018 Capital One study. Those consumers also cited credit card fraud as a top concern, even more so than overspending.
Online shopping is projected to grow even stronger this year. 2015 was the first year online sales exceeded in-store sales for Thanksgiving weekend. That trend has continued over the last three years. Splitit found that 63% of consumers plan to shop online and in stores for the 2019 holiday season.
Amazon will most likely remain a prominent force over the holidays, with 54% of consumers planning on using the site for gift purchases. However, small businesses may also get a break this year. Only 18% of respondents said they plan to shop on Small Business Saturday, but 42% plan to purchase gifts from local businesses and mom-and-pop stores.
