Have you started holiday shopping yet? According to Deloitte’s annual holiday survey, a huge chunk of Dallas-Fort Worth area shoppers started in October.
And, about 60% planned to start buying holiday gifts before mid-November.
D-FW shoppers are expected to spend more than the national average on holiday gifts and will likely spend more than they did last year.
People in D-FW plan to spend $1,655 this holiday season, which is 10% more than in 2019 and is higher than the $1,387 average holiday budget for shoppers nationally.
That total includes spending on gifts, furnishings, entertaining and socializing related to the holidays.
Pandemic shopping: Online or in-store?
In Dallas-Fort Worth, 64% of shoppers plan to buy online, while 28% plan to shop in stores.
Those numbers represent a new high and a new low for the respective ways to shop.
Deloitte reports that of the local respondents who plan to go to the store during the pandemic, 26% say they aren’t worried about that experience. About 51% of respondents said they are anxious about in-person shopping.
Will people still donate?
The report showed that about 43% of those who responded said they are doing about the same financially as they were a year ago. About 28% said they are somewhat or a lot better off.
Nearly a third said they are a lot or somewhat worse off.
How people are doing financially this year compared to last may impact how much people donate to charity.
The survey found that about 71% of shoppers in Dallas-Fort Worth plan to donate cash, gift cards or items during the holiday season.
To: Me | From: Me
Finally, Deloitte found that about half of shoppers in D-FW are planning to buy a gift for themselves.
Nearly 43% of those planning to shop for themselves said they will buy food and beverages. Clothing and accessories also ranked high on the list of items shoppers plan to buy for themselves.
Electronics and kitchen supplies also accounted for the gifts people want to give themselves.