Ho Ho Hole in Your Wallet

How much does the average person spend on the holiday season? Well, in 2023 that number is going up to record levels from previous years. The real question is this attributed to increased holiday spirit or is it all from inflation?

The NRF or National Retail Federation forecast a 3 to 4 percent increase in holiday sales from 2022. The forecast also calls for a total between 957.3 and 966.6 billion dollars in sales with an increase from 7 to 9 percent of that total being from online sales. Now this is an increase from last year at 929.5 billion dollars. Good news is that the percentage of increase has decreased from last year were the expected increase was at 5.4%.

Now what does this mean for everyone? Why does this even matter? How does this affect anybody in Hills West?

Believe it or not, this is a big deal. After years of Covid anchoring down the economy, brick and mortar retailers are seeing numbers in sales similar to pre Covid and with the continued rise of online shopping majorly boosting not only the economy, but also the job market with seasonal jobs. Not everything can be sunshine and rainbows as all good has its bad. Much of this increased spending could be majorly resulting from inflation. People who are shopping for the holidays are paying more for less in previous years. This can put pressure on people who are already under a strict budget. They are expected to spend more money simply because it’s the holidays. For example, ham is a staple in many homes for holiday dinner. In previous years such as 2021 ham cost $4.80 a pound but has now increased to $5.65 a pound. This is a 17.7% increase from 2021. This trend has become to common with many items this year.

What should people do? How can they save money? The hard truth is their isn’t really an answer but to budget, hunt for deals, and cut any unnecessary spending. Hopefully in the New year prices can drop.