Average holiday budgets have dropped 10.2 percent from $1,261 to $1,133 per person, marking a significant retreat from the previous year’s more optimistic spending levels, according to JLL’s U.S. Holiday Shopping Survey report 2025. This pullback represents more than belt-tightening. It signals a shift toward more thoughtful, strategic holiday spending. Consumers are no longer willing to stretch their finances for holiday excess, instead choosing to focus their limited resources on what truly brings joy during the season.
Economic inequality becomes starkly visible during the 2025 holiday season, with spending patterns revealing a deeply divided consumer landscape. Higher-income households earning more than $150,000 are actually increasing their planned spending by 26 percent to $1,963, while lower-income households under $50,000 are cutting back severely to only $699 — a steep 24 percent
