By Jim Shimabukuro (assisted by ChatGPT)
Editor
The Harris Poll’s The Holiday Edit, released this week, finds that U.S. holiday shoppers are making room in tight budgets for the parts of the season they value most. When asked what they would protect if money were tight, 69% chose meaningful gifts, 66% chose gatherings and shared meals, and 65% chose gifts for children. A gift or treat for oneself was the most common first cut, at 56%. Younger shoppers had somewhat different priorities. Forty-five percent of Gen Z and millennial shoppers would make room for a personal treat, compared with 20% of Gen X shoppers and those in older generations. theharrispoll.com
Time with loved ones was the most frequently selected ingredient of a successful holiday, at 45%. Familiar customs mattered as well. Seventy-six percent said holiday traditions help them feel grounded when other parts of life are changing, and 62% preferred recreating the holidays they grew up with. At the same time, 58% said they would celebrate differently if they didn’t have to worry about disappointing others. Among those expecting to host or attend a gathering, 28% planned on a potluck or another informal celebration, and 25% planned to ask guests to contribute. Those choices show how people can keep a gathering on the calendar while sharing the work and expense.
Gift-giving brought out the tension between affection and obligation. Seventy-three percent said a gift shows how well the giver knows them, and 54% wished the people they exchange gifts with would agree to stop. Asked what they would most like to receive, 19% chose an outing or experience they could share with the giver, the most popular single answer. Cash and gift cards drew 17% each. The appeal of those options suggests that a gift can feel welcome because it gives the recipient a choice about how to use it.
Harris grouped 59% of shoppers as facing some form of financial constraint, including 32% who expected to scale back to stay within their means. About half planned to buy for fewer people or give fewer gifts per person, and 47% expected to shorten trips, stay closer to home, or choose cheaper travel. Even so, across the categories Harris measured, more shoppers expected to spend more than last year than expected to spend less. Food and beverages had the widest gap, at 21 percentage points. That figure compares two groups of respondents. Actual dollar spending will only become clear after the season.
Shoppers also expected to rely on discounts they regarded with skepticism. Fifty-six percent planned to wait for promotions, even though 79% thought sales and discounts had gotten worse. The survey found a similarly practical attitude toward AI. Sixty-five percent were comfortable using it to compare prices, while 41% were comfortable letting it make purchases for them. And when shoppers were asked where they expected to get gift ideas, in-store browsing led at 36%, compared with 11% for AI assistants. For retailers, the findings favor showing shoppers the full price and making comparisons easy while leaving the purchase in their hands.
Harris surveyed 1,906 U.S. adults online from October 8 to 13, 2026. All expected to buy a holiday gift for themselves or someone else, so the findings describe the plans and preferences of holiday gift buyers. The public report makes its weighting details and subgroup sample sizes available on request.
Read the full Harris Poll report (PDF)
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