What Does the Average Consumer Spend on Gifts During the Holiday Season? (2013–2024)
According to industry experts’ forecast, the average holiday spend per person in 2024 is set to surpass $900 for the first time. If you’re a business owner looking to capitalize on the increased shopping activities during the winter holidays, you’ll need to know what portion of this is expected to be on presents. In other words: What does the average consumer spend on gifts during the holiday season?
Key statistics: What does the average consumer spend on gifts during the holiday season?
- In 2024, the average consumer is expected to spend $641 on holiday gifts. This is a 3.4% annual increase and accounts for 71.1% of total per-person holiday expenditure.
- The top three gifts consumers hope to receive in the 2024 holiday season are gift cards, clothing and accessories, and books and other media.
- Since 2013, per-person expenditure on gifts during the holiday season has increased at an average annual growth rate of 1.4%.
Table showing per-person gift expenditure during the holiday season
|
Year |
Per-person gift spending |
Annual change |
Share of total per-person holiday spending |
|
2013 |
$558 |
72.8% |
|
|
2014 |
$595 |
+6.6% |
74.2% |
|
2015 |
$605 |
+1.7% |
73.9% |
|
2016 |
$589 |
-2.6% |
74.0% |
|
2017 |
$608 |
+3.2% |
73.6% |
|
2018 |
$638 |
+4.9% |
74.8% |
|
2019 |
$659 |
+3.3% |
74.4% |
|
2020 |
$650 |
-1.4% |
73.9% |
|
2021 |
$648 |
-0.3% |
73.7% |
|
2022 |
$586 |
-9.6% |
70.3% |
|
2023 |
$620 |
+5.8% |
70.9% |
|
2024 |
$641 |
+3.4% |
71.1% |
What does the average consumer spend on gifts during the holiday season: 2024
The latest data from the National Retail Federation shows that the average consumer is projected to spend $641 on gifts in 2024. This constitutes 71.1% of the total holiday spending per person, which means that out of every $100 a holiday shopper is expected to spend during the holiday season, $71.10 will be on presents.
2024’s figure marks a 3.4% rise from the average consumer’s expenditure on gifts in 2023. It is also the second consecutive annual increase.
The same survey shows that 53% of consumers hope to receive gift cards as holiday presents, making it the most popular year-end gift category. This is followed by clothing accessories, which just under half (49%) of consumers want to be gifted. Books and other media round out the three most wanted holiday gifts of 2024, with 28% of consumers hoping to receive them.
What does the average consumer spend on gifts during the holiday season: 2013–2023
What does the average consumer spend on gifts during the holiday season, and how has this evolved over the past decade?
The same data shows that, despite several rises and falls, the average consumer spend on holiday gifts has largely risen since 2013. That year, consumers spent $558 on gifts. This rose by 6.6% in 2014, the largest yearly increase between 2013 and 2023, to $595.
A marginal 1.7% rise followed in 2015, which brought gift expenditures to $605 per person. In 2016, a 2.6% dip saw gift spend fall below the $600 mark, to $589.
Three consecutive years of growth followed, and by 2019, the average holiday shopper was spending $659 on gifts—the highest amount ever recorded. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, consumer spending waned, and expenditure on holiday gifts fell in 2020, 2021, and 2022. Following these three years of decline, gift spending increased by 5.8% in 2023, to $620 per person.