Average holiday expenditure accelerated to a 5%decrease, led by a modest Zers gene

PWC 2025 Holiday Outlook, issued by Deday, US consumers plan to limit their expenses during the upcoming holiday season, while the buyer of the Z feels especially modestly.

PWC said that consumers for the first time since 2020 expect their seasonal expenses to drop and that 84% expect to reduce spending over the next six months.

While the total average consumer expenditure is expected to drop by 5%, respondent GEN (aged 17 to 28) said they plan to reduce their budgets by 23% – more than any other generation. “This means that retailers could fight for a smaller group of discretional dollars Gen Z this season,” PWC said.

PWC examined 4,000 US consumers between June 26 and 9 July.

Although the overall average is expected to drop, based on the results of the survey, Americans are still planning to spend love for all holiday expenses, including gifts, travel and expenditure. Millennials consumers plan to spend the most, on average $ 2.190, followed by Gen X for $ 1.483, Gen Z for $ 1.357 and Baby Boomers for $ 1.180.

In addition to the expense of expenditure, the OULL INSIGHTS reports when, where, and how consumers buy and which purchases will prefer.

The gene from feels an economic pinch

The mood of the gene from a holiday to 2025 is in sharp contrast to last year, when this age group planned to increase their expenses by 37%. This year’s 25% of respondents’ survey GEN said their financial situation was worse than 12 months ago, compared to 17% in 2024.

Consumers GEN plan to spend significantly less than last year in this festive season.

With the kind permission of PWC

“What we see with the gene Z is the advent of a generation of age,” said Ali Furman, head of PWC consumer industry in an interview on the results of the survey. “The average age is now 22. The oldest gene Z is 29. So they are starting to have children, enjoy a mortgage, learn about budgeting and how to stretch their dollar and manage their expenses.”

But the problem is not just financial pressures, Furman said.

“We think it is a verifying signal that retailers are not subject to their needs and expectations,” she said.

Generation laser -focused on value

“The price is the GEN love language. This is a generation that has been increased in the era of rising costs, so they are focused on the laser value and transparency of costs, more than any other generation,” she said.

The Z is also a generation that has grown up “with always on feeding” social media, Furman said. “They are generations that are the fastest that has accepted trends and the fastest to leave trends. And their expectations are that the social speed of the shelf is a quick flash,” she said.

“What the retailers fight with as fast as the Z Z.”

The Z’ers gene is a generation that prefers personal experiences and controls an increase in trade and trade. “But what does not correspond to their pedestrian operation is sale,” Furman said. “They don’t buy. So that’s why it’s a real opportunity for retailers to capture this conversion,” she said.

“He has to make a trade more goals for experience” with things like drops, treasure hunting, cooperation with influenced, Furman said. “The retailers really have to do a better job to balance the demand for uniqueness and price,” she said.

Consumers are expected to start buying earlier and completing 80% of their shopping with cyber light, the survey found.

Gift cards, toys, clothing and consumer goods are expected to be the best purchase of gifts.

According to the PWC report this year, food appears as one of the most durable categories of gifts this year.

“Unlike clothing or electronics, food provides what many consumers are looking for this year – availability, generosity and sense of personal care – without adding a mess to the house,” the report says.

Gift cards saw a way to avoid rising costs

The PWC report notes that many consumers decide to buy gift cards as gifts as a way to have rising costs and stick to their budget. “The $ 100 gift card still signals generosity, even if it buys less than a year ago,” the report says.

According to a PWC 2025 survey, Holiday Outlook is planning to shop gift cards and toys.

With the kind permission of PWC

Shoppers are increasingly using technology to decide on the purchase of holidays, the survey found. About 15% of the Z and Millennials Gen said they expected to use gift ideas to generate gift ideas.

The report notes that for the first time, shopping with holiday is approaching “channel parity”, with roughly the same percentage planning to shop online as in the store. Plan of fifty Pierge seeds to complete their purchases through online markets included Amazon, eBay and Etsy, with 53% shopping in person.

The survey found that almost half of consumers (48%) “say they will draw into the store to interact directly with the products”, while 38% quoted promotional actions and 25% festive atmosphere for shopping.