A large number of Americans say they are willing to borrow money or go into debt to fund their holiday gift shopping, a new study has found.
Nearly half (49 per cent) say they will borrow money and 27 per cent said they will take on debt, according to the new poll of 1,003 people over three days last month by retail advocate International Council of Shopping Centers.
Some 49 percent of shoppers surveyed also say they are worried about being able to afford gifts.
“Consumers have made it clear they are willing to make sacrifices for the things that matter to them this holiday season, but they are making careful decisions about when and where they spend to make that money go further,” Council CEO Tom McGee said in a statement.
The top 10 percent of shoppers plan to spend five times the amount of the average consumer, another indicator of a K-shaped economy, where the wealthiest people recover quickly from an economic downturn while low-income households struggle.
Since 2024, the wealth of America’s top 10 percent has grown 22 percent, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
The bottom 50 percent, meanwhile, has seen its wealth grow by just 13 percent, over the same time period.
Wealthy households have enjoyed a rise in the stock market and record levels of home equity since the pandemic, while lower-income homes are struggling to afford essentials as inflation persists, a July U.S. Bank analysis found.
A deeper dive into holiday spending trends bear out more K-shaped evidence. Half of consumers say their existing debt will impact their holiday spending, the new study found.
Some 49 percent say concerns about the job market will affect how much they’ll budget for the holiday season -a more than a 10 percent increase from 2025, the study said.
Aside from borrowing money, some 25 percent of shoppers plan to make a switch to lower-priced products and brands to keep holiday costs under control, the study noted.
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