Although many analysts and experts have said that retail sales will skyrocket in the Christmas season, which officially begins with Black Friday, many Americans say they will not buy many Christmas gifts this year.
According to a survey conducted by Deloitte, the 11. 5% of people plan to get through the season without spending anything on gifts, gift cards or other entertainment items. According to the consulting agency, this figure represents a record for Americans.
According to the study, Deloitte revealed that high-income families will spend five times more than low-income people this holiday season. The consultancy surveyed 4, 315 consumers about their Christmas shopping plans between 7 and 14 September.
Families with incomes of more than $ 100, 000 dollars a year plan spend $ 2, 624 dollars on this vacation, 15% more what in 2020. While the lower income groups, with less than $ 50, 000 dollars annually, they plan to spend $ 536 dollars, a decrease from 22% with respect to the previous year.
The issue of the economic impact of the pandemic has been decisive for these numbers to be given in the study, as it is clear that not all American families have recovered from the ravages of Covid – 19, so they cannot spend with their hands full .
Karthik Easwar, professor at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University explained to CNBC that the consumer vacuum left by the Americans who do not plan to spend too much this season will be filled by wealthy buyers.
“There are consumers who are looking to spend a lot. And if I spend $ 5, 000 dollars on a trip to Disney and then a few thousand dollars on lavish and expensive gifts for my family, or I buy a new car that will outnumber a lot of people who are not spending the $ 700 dollars that they would normally spend, ”Easwar said.
Although the arguments of people who assert that they will not spend much or nothing on gifts this year, the main retail companies such as Walmart or Target seek that the prices of their merchandise are accessible for all consumers in the country.
The two powerful supermarket chains indicated that having accessible prices can reduce their profits, but the bet is that consumers find value in their purchases, especially because inflation raises the price of basic products and household items.
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