+25 Merrily Funny Holiday Spending Statistics

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? ‘Tis the season to be jolly

Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la ?

Too early, you say?

Well, it’s never too early for Christmas. Or being jolly, for that matter. You carry Christmas in your heart.

Your wallet feels it too, by the way. Your wallet feels eeeeeevery holiday there is. Just look at those holiday spending statistics:

  • Unmarried men aged 25-34 spent the most money on Valentine’s Day, with 62% of them buying gifts for their significant other.
  • Americans spend $18 billion on average on Easter.
  • The average American spends around $186 on Mother’s Day.
  • $9 billion were spent on Halloween last year.
  • 174 million Americans were shopping online or in-store on Thanksgiving in 2018.
  • In 2018, $6.2 billion changed hands on Black Friday.
  • 30% of the annual sales in the retail industry happen between Black Friday and Christmas.
  • 60% of Americans prefer to shop online for Christmas.

Consistent social media presence and good customer experience are not the only things you need to make great sales.

You also need chemical X. Occasions.

Holidays seem to be the merchant’s dream.

Wanna find out more?

Then keep reading!

1. Unmarried men aged 25-34 spent the most money on Valentine’s Day, with 62% of them buying gifts for their significant other.

(Source: finder)

Valentine’s day is one of those special occasions that you either love or hate. There are visibly fewer people celebrating in the last few years. However, commercialism is getting the best of us most of the time. Although there’s less interest in the day itself, spendings are still mind-blowing.

Surprisingly, young men have adopted the habit of buying gifts on Valentine’s day for their significant others. They tend to spend around $130 on presents, while women spend only around 70% of that, or around $90. Those weren’t the Valentine’s day statistics you were expecting, were they?

But love doesn’t always have to have a romantic context. Millennials buy gifts for their friends, family, and even pets on Valentine’s. Love is love, right?

Review42 Fun Fact: Signing your name on a Valentine’s card was considered bad luck in Victorian times. Nowadays many people still won’t do it.

2. Americans spend $18 billion on average on Easter.

(Source: DMR)

Easter seems to be one of the most popular holidays in America. After all, who doesn’t love the good old egg hunt?

The spendings on Easter are through the roof, according to those holiday spending statistics. Have you ever wondered what exactly are people spending their money on?

I have the answer. Candy. Easter is the second-best holiday for candy manufacturers. Only Halloween beats it to the throne.

Marketers will be happy to know that the main reason people spend so much money on Easter is sales and discounts. At least that’s what Easter statistics point to.

Review42 Fun Fact: Don’t know about you, but I have always wondered what’s the deal with eggs on Easter. After all, we’re celebrating the rebirth of Jesus Christ. Where do eggs fit in this picture? Turns out, Easter gets its name from the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre. Her sacred symbols are eggs and the hare. It’s all about holiday conversion, apparently.

3. The average American spends around $186 on Mother’s Day.

(Source: Much Needed)

My mom is the best mom in the world. Your mom is probably also the best mom in the world. Most moms deserve the world, that’s an unspoken fact. One day of celebrating them is hardly enough, but we work with what we have.

People are more than willing to spoil their mothers, as those holiday spending stats show. Jewelry is still the most preferred present, although experiences are catching up. Spending around half your holiday budget on experiences is a growing trend that we’ll discuss later in the article.

But what about fathers? Don’t they deserve love too? Of course, they do and worry not – roughly $12 billion are spent annually for Father’s day. They can’t outshine those Mother’s Day statistics, but they still get the appreciation they deserve.

Review42 Fun Fact: Carnations carry special meaning for this occasion. President Woodrow Wilson started a tradition of wearing a carnation to celebrate mothers. The colors of choice are red and pink. White carnations are to celebrate a mother who has passed away.

4. $9 billion were spent on Halloween last year.

(Source: PumpkinPatchesAndMore)

? Boys and girls of every age

Wouldn’t you like to see something strange ?

Here’s something unusual – apparently twice a year all Americans go into a candy-crazy mode. Once on Easter and once on Halloween.

In the last few years, it seems Halloween has become everyone’s favorite holiday. The internet goes wild about it the moment September starts. Don’t believe me? Just open any social media and you’ll see it.

Of course, people prefer to shop from discount stores. Who doesn’t?

Halloween statistics show that people spend money not only on candy but on costumes too. With Hollywood ruling over our imagination, there’s just so many characters you can dress up as.

And once a year, no one can judge you for that. So ha.

Review42 Fun Fact: Did you know that people used to dress up as a way to hide from ghosts? It’s an old Celtic tradition. When people used to go out in the dark, they used to wear masks, so that the spirits wouldn’t bother them.

5. 174 million Americans were shopping online or in-store on Thanksgiving in 2018.

(Source: Quartz)

I’m starting to think that holidays were invented just so that we can cover up our gluttony.

Anyway.

$48.50 is how much the average meal for ten people costs, according to the holiday spending statistics in 2018. I personally expected a higher number, but it seems people nowadays prefer to spend this occasion traveling. Again, experiences seem to beat the traditional dinner.

Millennials seem to be Thanksgiving’s biggest fans. And surprisingly, according to Thanksgiving statistics, men are the bigger spenders. Do you wanna bet that half of them were shopping for family dinner on behalf of their wives?

Review42 Fun Fact: Every year on Thanksgiving, the American president is presented a turkey. A fun tradition, started by George H. W. Bush, is “pardoning” the turkey. But what happens to the turkeys after that? Well, some of them go to Disneyland!

6. In 2018, $6.2 billion changed hands on Black Friday.

(Source: CNBC)

You’re in front of a store. It’s early in the morning. There’s a whole crowd there waiting, just like you. Suddenly, the doors open… and every single person rushes inside as if their life depends on it.

Black Friday is that time of the year when people suddenly decide that they need to buy everything. Oh, there’s a TV on sale! Do you really need it? Doesn’t matter, you’re buying it.

The craze surrounding the shopping experience is legendary. It even reaches up to a point where people are willing to pay others to stand in line for them.

Come to think of it, those might be the easiest bucks made in history.

Oh, well.

The madness is not only in-store. Black Friday statistics show that people spend billions online, too. Most budgets get spent on clothing and tech. Toys and home gadgets come second.

Review42 Fun Fact: Here’s something not widely known – the best sales usually aren’t on Black Friday. Most people, however, still save up for Black Fridays.

You win this time too, marketing.

7. 30% of the annual sales in the retail industry happen between Black Friday and Christmas.

(Source: The Balance)

The retail industry is sure having a blast when the colder months set in. Most retail sales happen during a holiday.

Spending trends show that when it comes to gifts, millennials don’t like shopping in retail. Or in person, for that matter.

The older generations prefer more material gifts – jewelry, clothing, books, etc. Millennials, on the other hand, are overloaded with those things. They want to make memories. To have stories to tell.

Because of that, there’s a boom in the so-called retailtainment – experiential retail or simply put, experiences. Travelling, courses, vouchers for adrenaline-inducing outings – you name it, they want it.

Millennials are also behind the decrease in in-store shopping. Why deal with crowds, when you can shop from the comfort of your own home, right? Online holiday shopping is the new trend.

Review42 Fun Fact: Millennials are more likely to impulse shop than any other generation. In fact, 83% of them admit that they’ve made an impulse purchase at least once.

Not that I’m trying to give you sneaky hints or something.

8. 60% of Americans prefer to shop online for Christmas.

(Source: Deloitte)

  • Americans spend over $1 trillion shopping for Christmas.
  • The average amount people spend on Christmas is $663.93 per person.
  • 1.6 billion Christmas cards are purchased every year.

? Deck the halls with boughs of holly

Fa la la la la, la la la la ?

Ah, we’ve come full circle.

If you’re the Grinch, you can skip this part. Or don’t. Maybe I can change your opinion on Christmas.

It’s not about the commercial side of the holiday. It’s about hot cocoa, the colorful lights, and the overall festive feeling. It’s meeting your friends for churros, having candy cones and dinner with your family.

Christmas is just so warm.

Okay, okay, I’ll stop with my Christmas gushing. But just so you know, it’s the best time of the year.

Minus the cold, I don’t do cold.

Judging by those holiday spending stats, I’m not the only one that likes Christmas. The money that gets spent on Christmas every year is astounding. People aren’t holding back when it comes to spoiling their loved ones.

Do you know what was the most popular Christmas gift in the majority of the states in 2020? A Disney+ Subscription.

Another thing that makes me very happy is that the good old tradition of giving cards is still going strong! People buy billions of them annually.

Review42 Fun Fact: Every year, without exception, once it’s December every single shop or café starts blasting “Jingle bells”. The funny thing is… this song was actually written for Thanksgiving. It was a way to honor the Medford sleigh races. Nothing to do with Santa Claus and the bells on his sleigh, unfortunately.

Wrapping Up

I honestly can’t wait to see the holiday spending statistics for 2019. Marketers are suggesting that they will be even more astonishing.

I mean, who doesn’t like holidays?

You get to spend time with your family, catch up with friends. They also give us a lot of opportunities to spoil ourselves and show our loved ones we care.

Do you know what holidays are also great for?

Relaxing a little. So don’t go crazy over shopping.

I guess that means we can scratch Black Friday from the jolly holiday list.

Anyway. Hopefully, those holiday spending statistics were informative enough. And I’ll be glad if at least some of them put a smile on your face.

Till next time!

ABOUT AUTHOR

My dream of building a spaceship crashed the day I first saw letters in math equations. So, having to stay on Earth, I chose to read about everything. From fantasy to books about tech, I’ve read it all. Social media fascinates me, but not enough to become an Instagram influencer. Makeup reviews are just not my jam. Reviewing technology, however, is an entirely different story - you get all the fun stuff and none of the math.

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