Christmas spending to rise 7 percent this year, Conference Board projects

Business Wire, Nov 30, 1994

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--November 30, 1994--The nation's average household will spend about $430 on holiday gifts this year, compared with $405 last Christmas, The Conference Board reports today.

This, in addition to a small increase in the household population, should add up to an increase of 7 percent from a year ago. All told, consumer spending for gifts is estimated to reach nearly $42 billion in retail sales for the holiday season.

"The expected improvement in Christmas spending reflects a stronger economy than last year at this time," says Fabian Linden, executive director of The Conference Board's Consumer Research Center. "Consumer confidence is at a substantially higher level than a year ago, registering a four-year high in November. In short, both the consumer's purse and the consumer's spirits promise a lively holiday season for the nation's retailers."

The survey of Christmas gift-giving plans covers a representative sample of 5,000 households. It is conducted for The Conference Board by NFO Research Inc. of Greenwich, Conn.

Among the major survey findings:

- Close to 30 percent of all households indicate that they plan to spend less than $200 for Christmas gift giving this year.

- Slightly more than two out of five households have a gift budget of $200-$500.

- Almost 22 percent plan to spend between $500-$1,000, and another 8 percent are budgeting over $1,000.

- Households headed by persons under age 35 plan to spend slightly over $400 on average. This should add up to total outlays of about $10 billion, representing about one-quarter of all Christmas spending.

- Those in the 35-55 age bracket - which make up about two out of five households - plan to spend an average of close to $470, adding up to $18 billion or close to 45 percent of all holiday spending.

- The 35 percent of the population over age 55 will spend an average of $410, accounting for approximately one-third of total Christmas spending.

- Some two out of five dollars spent on gift giving this year will be accounted for by homes in the $50,000-and-over income bracket. This group represents slightly over a quarter of all homes.

- A third of all hosueholds are in the $25,000-$50,000 bracket, and they will account for about the same share of holiday spending.

- Homes with incomes under $25,000 represent two out of five households; they will account for about a quarter of all expenditures.

CONTACT: The Conference Board, New York

              Fabian Linden, 212/339-0303 (O)
              212/831-3007 (H)