Just one in four plan to spend more money on gifts this holiday season

The Ipsos Consumer Tracker asks Americans questions about culture, the economy and the forces that shape our lives. Here's one thing we learned this week.

Why we asked: It’s the most wonderful time of the year (for retailers). But as we mentioned, there’s some uncertainty in the air. So we dusted off another question from two years ago which gets at changing holiday shopping behaviors

What we found: Few are planning to do more of… anything. Just one in four are going to spend more (27%), 19% plan to spend more cash on decorations, 22% plan to spend more time decorating, 18% are going to send gifts instead of exchanging them in person, 47% are buying gifts for fewer people, while only 22% are buying gifts for more people. One in four say they’re canceling typical travel plans. 

The biggest number is the half of people who say they’re doing more shopping online this year. 

And we added a new option this year: using AI like ChatGPT to help with gift ideas or shopping lists. One in four (but 42% of 18- to 24-year-olds) say they will be getting some help with that.