Katharina Buczek
Even with Black Friday weekend deals and Cyber Monday steals, new data revealed that the true grinch of this holiday season is not the furry green fictional character– it’s inflation.
In October, the most recent reporting period, inflation was 7.7%, representing a 1.2% rise from the same time last year.
Still, 2021 inflation rates were much higher than 2020, too, with the average rate last year coming out to 4.7%. In comparison, we finished 2020 with an average inflation rate of only 1.2%.
On top of that, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Inflation-adjusted (constant dollar) private wages and salaries declined 2.7% for the twelve months ending in September 2022.”
Similarly, inflation-adjusted benefits costs also declined by 3% over the same period in the private sector.
All of this means that as the season of giving dawns on us, families across the nation have been forced to tighten their purse strings and give a bit less.
This reality was only underscored by the thirty-seventh annual holiday shopping survey conducted by Deloitte Consulting.
Back in September, five thousand respondents were surveyed regarding how much they planned to spend on gifts, as well as how many presents they intended to give out this season.
And unfortunately, the results are bleak. This year, the anticipated spending for each American household is one thousand four hundred and fifty-five dollars– down eight dollars from a year ago.
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