Uh Oh, People Are Lying to Their Significant Others About Holiday Spending
‘Tis the season to be deceptive?
Almost half of Americans say their spouse or significant other does not know how much they spend on holiday shopping, according to a new study by online rewards platform Swagbucks.
Since the National Retail Federation (NRF) estimates holiday shopping could yield as much as $721 billion in sales for the retail industry, it makes sense that some shoppers are skittish to own up to their share of that spending. (The NRF expects 2018 holiday retail sales to rise between 4.3 and 4.8 percent in November and December over the same period last year for a total of $717.45 billion to $720.89 billion.)
But those who are willing to carry the blame for splurging this holiday season said they plan to dish out an average of $1,007.24 during the period, up 4.1 percent from last year’s $967.13, according to an annual survey by Prosper Insights & Analytics.
The results of Swagbuck’s national survey of 1,000 U.S. adults, conducted online by Prodege in November, may have zeroed in on who the biggest spenders are: 85 percent of women said they do all of the shopping during the holidays, while 46 percent of men indicated they are the primary shoppers.
When it comes to how shoppers are assigning purchases to their holiday budget — or lack thereof — Swagbucks found that the most popular form of payment for Americans is cash or a debit card (72 percent). Credit cards (64 percent), gift cards (64 percent) and PayPal (27 percent) were also popular choices, with 44 percent of Americans typically using two credit cards during the holiday shopping season.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, all of that spending (and deception) will come at a cost for many shoppers this year. Swagbucks found that most Americans (63 percent) go into debt during the holidays with about 15 percent of shoppers incurring from $250 to $500 in balances.
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