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In The Middle Of A Pandemic, North Texans Expect To Spend 10% More This Holiday Season

Woman standing in from of store's sliding glass doors with large Black Friday sale sign on it as woman employee unlocks the dor.
LM Otero
/
AP News
A shopper walks up to an At Home store just at opening time on Black Friday in the Dallas suburb of Frisco, Texas, Friday, Nov. 27, 2020.

The holiday shopping season kicked into high gear Friday, and despite COVID-19, the average North Texan plans to spend significantly more on the holidays than they did last year.

Shoppers in North Texas say they’ll spend an average of $1,655 per household on holiday gifts, decorations and celebrations this year. That’s what consulting firm Deloitte heard from hundreds of Dallas-Fort Worth residents during an annual survey of holiday spending plans.

The amount is up about 10% from last year, and is about 16% higher than the national average of $1,387 — reflecting a surprisingly rosy view of the economy.

Although 35% of local shoppers surveyed said they were more likely to spend less this 2020 holiday season, due to economic instability and general concern for the economy, 58% of North Texas shoppers surveyed also believe the economy will improve in 2021.

More than two thirds of local people surveyed said they’re doing as well or better, financially, than they were last year, despite a significantly higher unemployment rate.

But with 51% responding they’re anxious about in-store shopping, more consumers say they’ll be buying online this year — both to avoid the crowds and because it’s just easier than getting dressed and putting on a mask.

2020 Deloitte Holiday Survey

Got a tip? Christopher Connelly is KERA's One Crisis Away Reporter, exploring life on the financial edge. Email Christopher at cconnelly@kera.org.You can follow Christopher on Twitter @hithisischris.

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Christopher Connelly is a reporter covering issues related to financial instability and poverty for KERA’s One Crisis Away series. In 2015, he joined KERA to report on Fort Worth and Tarrant County. From Fort Worth, he also focused on politics and criminal justice stories.