Bucking national spending trends, an estimated 50 percent of Missourians plan to spend the same amount on holiday gifts this year compared to last year and 42 percent plan to spend less, according to the Missouri Credit Union Association.
In the second annual consumer spending survey, the number of Missouri consumers who said they would spend more this holiday season is also on the decline, down to 8 percent from 15 percent last holiday season.
The survey challenges national spending trends, which suggest holiday spending will rise between 3.5 and 4 percent compared to 2011, to an estimated $586.1 billion spending total, according to the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center.
From Nov. 15-Dec. 15, 639 Missourians took the MCUA survey, with 46 percent planning to spend between $100 and $499 on holiday gifts, 31 percent spending $500 to $1,000 and 16 percent spending less than $100.
The
National Retail Foundation’s 2012 Holiday Consumer Spending Survey - which polled 8,899 consumers Oct. 2-8 and has a margin of error of 1 percent - found the average holiday shopper would spend $750 on gifts, decor, greeting cards and other seasonal items during the months of November and December, up from an average of $741 spent last year.
With a record 247 million Black Friday shoppers, Americans got an early start on holiday spending this year. The NRF estimates
total Black Friday spending at $59.1 billion, compared to $52.4 billion last year. Of that, MERIC estimates Midwesterners averaged just $399 in Black Friday spending.
Despite national spending habits, the MCUA survey found 47 percent of Missourians said there has been little change in their personal finances compared to 2011. Only 28 percent reported their financial situation was better, while 25 percent said it was worse.
