Higher prices at the grocery store are impacting consumers' outlook for the holiday season.
Half of consumers (50%) say rising grocery costs make holiday hosting more stressful, while more than three-quarters (78%) say higher prices will affect their holiday spending decisions this year, according to a new survey from Omnisend.
Americans expect to spend an average of $950 this holiday season, primarily on gifts and groceries for hosting, totaling an estimated $256.3 billion nationwide. Nearly half (44%) of those surveyed are expecting to accumulate debt from the spending, while 39% say they will use or would consider using buy now, pay later services, down from 45% who said the same last year.
Omnisend found that more than half (53%) of Americans plan to host a holiday gathering or contribute food to one this season, while a third (33%) expect to spend more on holiday groceries and food than they did last year. One-in-five (20%) Americans said they feel pressure to "do it right" when hosting holiday gatherings.
"Holiday hosting is one of the few seasonal expenses that's difficult to scale back without changing the experience itself," said Marty Bauer, e-commerce expert at ...