Ah, statistics. How much are we spending this holiday season? You can ask 5 different experts and get 5 different interpretations of the numbers. What seems to be universal is that we still aren’t back to where we were in 2007, before everything went wacky, but slowly (painfully slowly) we are clawing our way back. Of course, that’s relative too. Is spending $800 per family at holiday time something we SHOULD be striving toward? I’m not so sure.
Anyway, here’s the latest look at Holiday Spending by the Numbers, 2013 edition, courtesy of Mint.com.
- 2007: The year holiday spending peaked, before the crash
- 39%: How much spending went down in 2008
- 2009: The year holiday spending bottomed out
- $682: The low point, per family, in 2009
- $750: what we worked our way up to, per family, in 2012. Expected to rise again in 2013
- $400: How much we spent on family gifts, 2012
- $75: Gifts for friends, 2012
- $25: Gift for co-workers, 2012
- 60%: The number of us that bought gifts for ourselves, 2012
- $224: The amount moms spend on each child and spouse
- #1: The most requested gift on wish lists: Gift cards!
The article is full of stats from different survey firms. Sometimes the numbers differ, but the trends seem stop hold up across the board. It also offers for tips to cut costs (I’m going to guess “buying gifts for yourself” is the first to go!) So check it out!
How about you? Are you spending the same? Less? More? Let us know over at the MindField Online Facebook page, and have a great (shopping) weekend!