New Holiday Predictions: Consumers Plan to Shop Earlier — and For Themselves

U.S. consumers are less confident their 2022 holiday plans will come to fruition compared to a year ago, according to a new study from Escalent. The study from the human behavior and analytics advisory firm found:

• 42% of consumers feel confident they’ll achieve their holiday shopping and travel plans (down 24 percentage points from 2021).
• 49% of consumers are uncertain if their plans will be achieved (up 23 percentage points from 2021).

Escalent also asked how inflation, the economy/supply chain issues and COVID-19 are impacting holiday shopping plans:

• 32% expect to spend less this holiday season, while only 16% see themselves spending more than 2021.
• 31% of consumers will be looking for different types of gifts compared to what they normally buy.
• 36% of consumers continue to take COVID precautions seriously this holiday season, with Gen X, baby boomers and older generations planning to exercise more caution than younger generations.

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