Dallas shoppers plan to spend less this holiday season
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Allie Carl/Axios
Shoppers in Dallas-Fort Worth plan to spend a little less this holiday season compared to last year as consumers worry about inflated prices and the economy, per Deloitte's 2025 Holiday Retail Survey.
Why it matters: Tepid holiday spending comes at a time when Americans are already cutting back.
- American consumption slowed in September, per Commerce Department data released this week.
Zoom in: North Texans plan to spend an average of $1,565 this holiday season, down 17% from last year, according to the survey of 417 Dallas-Fort Worth consumers.
- About 20% of local shoppers plan to hit stores on Small Business Saturday, an annual shopping day that highlights the more than 36 million independent businesses nationwide.
The latest: The city of Dallas and Visit Dallas are launching a new campaign to promote shopping locally.
- "Spend It in Dallas" launches tomorrow, with a website showcasing neighborhood stores and restaurants.
Context: Tourism to Dallas generated $10.9 billion in economic activity last year, according to Visit Dallas. The new campaign encourages residents to keep their money inside the city limits to add to the economic impact of tourism.
- "We are inviting everyone, whether you live here, work here, or visit here, to spend here, and help build a stronger, more resilient economy one purchase, one meal, one experience at a time," Dallas city manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert said in a statement.
By the numbers: 27.7 million people visited Dallas last year, generating $649 million in state and local tax revenue.
- In Fort Worth, 11.5 million people visited the city, generating $251 million in state and local tax revenue.
- Fort Worth officials estimate that, without tourism, each resident would need to pay $750 more in property taxes.
Between the lines: Dallas collected $40.1 million in sales tax revenue for September, a 5.5% increase from last year.
- But the collections were less than expected. The city took in more sales tax revenue for the 2024–25 fiscal year than the previous year but was $10.5 million short of what the budget planned for.