Consumers are planning to cut back on travel spending for the holidays
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Consumers are planning to pare back the most spending on vacations and travel during the holiday season — another possible concern for the services sector, according to a survey by the Conference Board and Nielsen provided first to Axios.
The big picture: Overall, consumer spending this holiday season is expected to be roughly in line with last year, the Conference Board estimates.
- They'll spend an average of $673 on gifts this year, versus the $675 they were estimated to spend in 2019.
Why it matters: The retail sector has been hit hard. They are hoping consumers will open up their wallets during holiday season, so companies can recoup lost revenue from the onset of the pandemic.
What they're saying: The survey results for welcome news "at a time when consumer confidence remains below pre-pandemic levels, unemployment is elevated, and the economy appears to be losing momentum heading into the final stretch of 2020," Lynn Franco, senior director of economic indicators at the Conference Board, says in a release.
Of note: The pandemic is expected to pushed reliance on e-commerce for gift shopping into overdrive.
- 52% said they planned to do at least half of their shopping online, while roughly 42% said the same last year.
