Report: Americans Expect to Keep Spending in Check for Holiday

Back-to-school shopping season hasn’t even ended yet, but American consumers are looking ahead to the Holiday shopping period with some trepidation.  Based on a recent consumer survey conducted by The SportsOneSource Group, more than half the respondents said they would spending about the same this year for sporting goods apparel, footwear and equipment, while 28% expect to spend less and 17% expect to spend more.

The survey, which was conducted via the Internet in late June as part of the broader Where America Shops report, sampled a cross-section of the American population ages 13 and older.  A broader top-line review of the study will be made available in the SGB magazine Fall issue, due out in mid-September. The full study will be available later this month.

African American consumers were far more likely to indicate a willingness to spend more this Holiday than other race groups, with more than 28% indicating they would spend at least a little more this Holiday than last year.

Roughly 36% of respondents expect to spend less than $100 on sporting goods apparel, footwear or equipment for each family member for Holiday and nearly 35% said they would spend between $100 and $250 on each family member.  Just over 20% planned to spend $250 to $500 on each family member for the sports and outdoor categories for Holiday.

As respondents’ children get older the amount of money expected to be spent on each of them also goes up. About 75% or respondents with a child less than four years old expect to spend less than $250, while a parent of a 15 to 17 year old, only 63% expect to spend less than $250 on sports or outdor products for Holiday.