Shoppers Cutting Back Big-Time This Holiday (Except the Rich)

By Rob Bates | October 14, 2025

While most American consumers plan to spend significantly less on holiday gifts this year, the wealthiest are looking to buy more, according to an annual poll by commercial real estate firm JLL.

On average, the survey’s 1,001 respondents expect to shell out $1,133 during the holiday, down 10.2% from the $1,261 they spent last year.

Yet not everyone will be cutting back: Respondents with household income of $150,000 or more said they’ll hike their holiday budgets by 26%, to nearly $2,000.

Those earning less than $50,000 a year said they’ll reduce their holiday spending 24%, to $699. Middle-income families ($50,000–$100,000) plan to trim their spending around 5%, to $1,207.

Naveen Jaggi, president of JLL’s retail advisory services, told CNBC that lower- and middle-income consumers are spooked by the “soft job market” and “the constant talk of tariffs.”

“Many retailers have said they’re not going to pass the cost increases [from tariffs] along to the consumer,” he said. “That doesn’t matter. There’s a bit of doubt in the [consumer’s] mind.”

Jaggi added that while stocks have been hitting new highs, “only 50% of U.S. households are actually in the market.… For them, when the market goes up, it’s kind of irrelevant. They are looking at how far their dollar will go.”

Despite the forecast, Jaggi said U.S retailers remain optimistic that spending will recover.

“I’ve talked to every retailer you can think about,” he said. “They are bullish on the consumer in the long haul.”

In JLL’s survey, 29.1% of respondents who plan to shop for themselves said they’ll be buying accessories, including jewelry, this holiday season—compared with 39.3% last year.

That fits in with the general trend of shoppers prioritizing gifts for others over self-purchases. Some 25% of survey participants said they don’t plan to buy for themselves this holiday, versus 17.3% last year, but expected spending on gifts for others was largely unchanged from 2024.

The survey “signals a shift toward more thoughtful, strategic holiday spending,” JLL said in a statement. “Consumers are no longer willing to stretch their finances for holiday excess, instead choosing to focus their limited resources on what truly brings joy during the season.”

(Photo: Getty Images)