Holiday shoppers appear unwilling to abandon their seasonal routines despite a difficult economic backdrop, according to new national survey data with direct relevance for Colorado Springs retailers and travelers heading into the busiest time of year.
Overall gift budgets have remained largely intact, with the average consumer expecting to spend around $700 this season — a drop of only about 2% from the previous year. Millennials stand out as the group making the sharpest adjustments, projecting a 10% reduction in what they spend on gifts and a steep 37% cutback in holiday travel outlays.
Survey researchers also noted that 64% of shoppers say screen-free gifts are a priority this year, and roughly three in ten intend to turn to artificial intelligence for help navigating their purchases. That AI-assisted shopping figure marks a 7-percentage-point jump compared with the same measure from the prior holiday season. The combination of shifting gift preferences and tech-assisted browsing suggests consumer habits are evolving even among those who are keeping overall budgets relatively stable.
Cost pressures extend well beyond the retail aisle. Data from The Points Guy shows Thanksgiving airfares are elevated by somewhere between 9% and 13% compared with what travelers paid last year. For Colorado Springs residents flying out of local or regional airports, that kind of increase adds a meaningful expense to holiday plans. About four in ten consumers say they expect to travel during the holidays, though nearly one in five remain on the fence, and a full third have decided to avoid buying plane tickets at all.
Elevated gas prices and broader cost-of-living concerns have weighed on consumer confidence, yet shoppers have largely kept spending in spite of those headwinds. That resilience, if it carries through December, would be welcome news for local businesses along Tejon Street and at The Promenade Shops at Briargate, which depend heavily on year-end sales to hit annual revenue targets.
Whether that nationwide spending resolve translates to strong receipts for Colorado Springs merchants — and whether climbing airfares ultimately deter local travelers from flying for the holidays — remains to be seen as the season unfolds.