{"id":6496,"date":"2025-12-23T13:34:55","date_gmt":"2025-12-23T13:34:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.surveycrest.com\/blog\/?p=6496"},"modified":"2025-12-23T13:34:57","modified_gmt":"2025-12-23T13:34:57","slug":"christmas-sales-by-numbers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.surveycrest.com\/blog\/christmas-sales-by-numbers\/","title":{"rendered":"Christmas Sales by the Numbers: How Americans Shop During the Holiday Season"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If you ever wanted to replace the term \u2018holiday season,\u2019 it could easily be called the \u2018shopping season.\u2019 You can\u2019t have a celebration without spending on party essentials for New Year\u2019s Eve, food and beverages for Thanksgiving, gifts, and attire for Halloween. Are we missing an event? Oh yes, the much-awaited arrival of Santa Claus during Christmas, for which you need to buy gifts, home d\u00e9cor items, and much more. All this can put a hole in the bank accounts of many Americans. So, let\u2019s look at some of the economic behaviors and trends that shape consumer behavior during the Christmas season.<\/p>\n<h2>Why Christmas Still Shapes American Spending Habits?<\/h2>\n<p>We\u2019ll begin by discussing how important Christmas is to the people living in America.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.surveycrest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Americans-in-different-states-celebrate-Christmas.png\" alt=\"Americans in different states celebrate Christmas\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" class=\"wp-image-6498\" title=\"Americans in different states celebrate Christmas\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.surveycrest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Americans-in-different-states-celebrate-Christmas.png 800w, https:\/\/www.surveycrest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Americans-in-different-states-celebrate-Christmas-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/www.surveycrest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Americans-in-different-states-celebrate-Christmas-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/www.surveycrest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Americans-in-different-states-celebrate-Christmas-500x281.png 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news.gallup.com\/poll\/700271\/secular-christmas-traditions-persist-sacred-ones-decline.aspx\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">According to the numbers<\/a>, 90% of Americans in different states celebrate Christmas. This number stood at 96% in 2005, indicating there hasn\u2019t been a significant decline in the number of people celebrating this occasion. Such high numbers make Christmas a major attraction for commercial activities during this season.<\/p>\n<h3>Recorded Sales and Unprecedented Rise<\/h3>\n<p align=\"center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.surveycrest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Holiday-sales.png\" alt=\"Holiday sales\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" class=\"wp-image-6502\" title=\"Holiday sales\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.surveycrest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Holiday-sales.png 800w, https:\/\/www.surveycrest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Holiday-sales-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/www.surveycrest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Holiday-sales-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/www.surveycrest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Holiday-sales-500x281.png 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/grabon.com\/blog\/holiday-shopping-statistics\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Holiday sales hit a record $994 billion in 2024<\/a>, showcasing strong consumer confidence and spending power.<\/li>\n<li>2025 is expected to cross the $1 trillion mark, driven by continued demand for gifts and seasonal purchases.<\/li>\n<li>History suggests this forecast may be conservative\u2014holiday sales often outperform expectations.<\/li>\n<li>In fact, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2024\/12\/23\/holiday-spending-2024-gifts\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">2024 sales were initially projected between $979.5 billion<\/a> and $989 billion, yet they exceeded estimates by a wide margin.<\/li>\n<li>The $994 billion final figure explains why analysts expect 2025 to outperform predictions as well.<\/li>\n<li>Holiday spending plays a major role in the U.S. economy, <a href=\"https:\/\/grabon.com\/blog\/holiday-shopping-statistics\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">contributing roughly 18\u201319% <\/a>of total annual retail sales.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Online Shopping Boom<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.surveycrest.com\/blog\/tools-for-ecommerce-startups\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">E-commerce platforms and startups<\/a> have made it easier for shoppers to find their favorite products during the holidays.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.surveycrest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Cyber-Monday.png\" alt=\"Cyber Monday\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" class=\"wp-image-6500\" title=\"Cyber Monday\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.surveycrest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Cyber-Monday.png 800w, https:\/\/www.surveycrest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Cyber-Monday-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/www.surveycrest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Cyber-Monday-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/www.surveycrest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Cyber-Monday-500x281.png 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Salesforce has reported that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.investopedia.com\/us-online-shopping-hit-record-usd282b-during-this-holiday-season-salesforce-says-8769644\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">online holiday sales<\/a> have reached a record $282 billion in one season, with a year-on-year growth of 4%.<\/li>\n<li>During <a href=\"https:\/\/www.surveycrest.com\/blog\/thanksgiving-black-friday-good-bad-ironic\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Black Friday<\/a> 2025, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/retail-consumer\/us-black-friday-online-sales-hit-86-billion-says-adobe-analytics-2025-11-28\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">online sales rose<\/a> sharply to $8.6 billion by early evening. This meant a nearly 10% increase compared to previous years.<\/li>\n<li>As for the sales on Cyber Monday, being one of the biggest online shopping days of the year, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/retail-consumer\/us-black-friday-online-sales-hit-86-billion-says-adobe-analytics-2025-11-28\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">online sales have reached $14 billion<\/a> in recent years.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Timelines and Behaviors of Customers<\/h3>\n<p>There have been different patterns and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.surveycrest.com\/blog\/surveying-gen-z-preferences-expectations\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">preferences among customers<\/a> on when they shop. Here\u2019s what <a href=\"https:\/\/www.surveycrest.com\/survey\/selection\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">online surveys<\/a> and other sources uncover.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.surveycrest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/beginning-of-Christmas.png\" alt=\"beginning of Christmas\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" class=\"wp-image-6499\" title=\"beginning of Christmas\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.surveycrest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/beginning-of-Christmas.png 800w, https:\/\/www.surveycrest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/beginning-of-Christmas-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/www.surveycrest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/beginning-of-Christmas-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/www.surveycrest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/beginning-of-Christmas-500x281.png 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>While almost half (48%) of the customers shop at the beginning of Christmas, 65% start their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gourmetgiftbaskets.com\/Blog\/post\/50-holiday-shopping-statistics.aspx\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">shopping routine<\/a> by the end of November.<\/li>\n<li>Only 10% of the audience completes their shopping by early December, meaning the rest are still waiting for the peak season deals to save money.<\/li>\n<li>December 15th to 24th is the peak shopping season, which sees the highest volume of online and in-store purchases.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What Do Americans Actually Buy?<\/h2>\n<p>According to Channel NewsAsia, Americans are holding back on spending too much on their Christmas shopping. One of the biggest reasons for this is the U.S. tariffs on imported goods.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/lDxJSuc24L8?si=_7zvgsJP9nmxpv6k\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Despite such a drop in sales, here are some of the common products and categories that shoppers buy.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gourmetgiftbaskets.com\/Blog\/post\/50-holiday-shopping-statistics.aspx\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Electronics and Apparel<\/a>: Electronics account for $55 billion in online holiday sales, and $46 billion in sales generated with shoppers buying electronic products.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.statista.com\/topics\/991\/us-christmas-season-shopping\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Gifting:<\/a> According to Statista, U.S. consumers plan to spend an average of $1,014 on holiday gifting.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Look Out for Deals and Discounts<\/h2>\n<p>Holiday shopping is as much about psychology as it is about spending. That\u2019s why, reportedly, <a href=\"https:\/\/yougov.com\/en-us\/articles\/53169-holiday-shopping-2025-what-americans-buy-spend-and-value-at-christmas\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">79% of American shoppers<\/a> are actively searching for holiday discounts.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.surveycrest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Deals-and-Discounts.png\" alt=\"Deals and Discounts\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" class=\"wp-image-6501\" title=\"Deals and Discounts\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.surveycrest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Deals-and-Discounts.png 800w, https:\/\/www.surveycrest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Deals-and-Discounts-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/www.surveycrest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Deals-and-Discounts-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/www.surveycrest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Deals-and-Discounts-500x281.png 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This data shows that many holiday shoppers are conscious of prices and how much they spend. According to other numbers, more than half of the holiday shoppers search for coupons or deals online before making purchases.<\/p>\n<h2>The Final Word<\/h2>\n<p>From huge retail sales figures to nuanced shifts in shopping behavior, the statistics clearly show that Christmas remains a central economic driver in American life. While traditions shape the cultural backdrop, consumer behavior, supercharged by digital innovation, deal-seeking, and evolving <a href=\"https:\/\/www.surveycrest.com\/blog\/holiday-marketing-2025\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">holiday shopping trends<\/a>, influences how, when, and what Americans buy during the holiday season.<\/p>\n<p>As the holiday shopping landscape continues to evolve, understanding these statistics is essential for retailers, marketers, and consumers alike.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you ever wanted to replace the term \u2018holiday season,\u2019 it could easily be called the \u2018shopping season.\u2019 You can\u2019t have a celebration without spending on party essentials for New Year\u2019s Eve, food and beverages for Thanksgiving, gifts, and attire for Halloween. Are we missing an event? Oh yes, the much-awaited arrival of Santa Claus [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6497,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[328],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hot-and-trending"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.surveycrest.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6496","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.surveycrest.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.surveycrest.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.surveycrest.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.surveycrest.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6496"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.surveycrest.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6496\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6503,"href":"https:\/\/www.surveycrest.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6496\/revisions\/6503"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.surveycrest.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6497"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.surveycrest.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.surveycrest.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.surveycrest.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}