Households spending a bit more these holidays: Conference Board

WASHINGTON — The pre-Christmas peak shipping season still isn’t what it used to be south of the border, but American households are on pace to spend an average of $471 on gifts during the holiday season, slightly up from last year’s estimate of $449, the US Conference Board reports.

US Conference Board is the world’s preeminent business membership and research organization, best known for the Consumer Confidence Index and the Leading Economic Indicators.

The survey of Christmas gift spending intentions covers a nationally representative sample of 5,000 U.S. households.

“Consumers are in a festive mood heading into the Thanksgiving holiday,” says Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board Consumer Research Center. “And, it appears they are willing to spend more than last year, though retailers can still expect a fair share of bargain hunters will be lining up for the traditional kickoff this Friday.”

The top Christmas spenders tend to be East South Central households (Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee). Lowest holiday spending will be in the West North Central region (Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota).

This year, 38 percent of all consumers will buy Christmas gifts on the Internet, the same percentage as a year ago. Books top the list of online Christmas buying, with 40 percent saying they will buy books as gifts. Apparel and footwear came in second with 39 percent of consumers intending to purchase these gifts online. Toys/games rank third as online Christmas buying choices, followed closely by movie videos and DVDs.

The survey is slightly at odds with recent forecasts from freight economists. The ATA. For example, said a few weeks ago that weakened fall freight volumes perhaps indicate a softer holiday spending season than last year, which was significantly down compared to past years.