Survey: Half of New Yorkers plan to spend less than $500 on holiday gifts

Nearly half of respondents (49 percent) plan to spend under $500 in gifts during this holiday season, a figure that is “virtually unchanged from last year.”

At the same time, nearly one-third (32 percent), expect to spend $1,000 or more on holiday gifts, which is up from 21 percent a year ago. 

That’s according to a new statewide survey of consumers that the Siena College Research Institute (SRI) released on Nov. 18.

The survey also found that only 10 percent of holiday shoppers plan to increase their spending this year while 38 percent are going to spend less and 48 percent plan to spend as much as they did last year. 

The findings indicate that 38 percent will conduct at least three-quarters of their holiday spending online this year, double last year’s 19 percent, amid the pandemic.

“While most New Yorkers are planning to either spend less or hold the line on spending, one in 10 are ready for a holiday spending spree as one-third are ready to spend $1,000 or more, a figure we haven’t seen since 2007,” Don Levy, SRI director, said in the survey report. “Only 23 percent plan to shop locally on Black Friday or Small Business Saturday but nearly half will be shopping online on Cyber Monday this year. We’ve seen online spending grow dramatically since 2008 but today with 19 percent doing at least half of their shopping online and another 38 percent doing 75 percent or more, we’ve hit a new all-time high,” Levy said.

That holiday feeling

The Siena survey found that 59 percent of New Yorkers are somewhat or very excited about the upcoming holiday season, down from 71 percent a year ago.

And 16 percent say that they are more excited than last year, but 41 percent are less excited. The findings also indicate that 68 percent say that the holidays will be different but that they “cannot be ruined by the virus as the spirit of the season will triumph over the pandemic.”

“Over a quarter of New Yorkers are coming into the holiday season saying that no matter how hard they try, the pandemic will take the joy out of the holidays,” Levy said. “But over two-thirds just won’t let the virus be the Grinch that steals the season this year.”

Only 14 percent will attend holiday parties during the rest of the holiday season while 19 percent plan to host holiday gatherings this year. The survey found that 64 percent of respondents say that they are comfortable attending a small holiday party in a home that includes no more than 10 people, but only 10 percent are comfortable attending a party at a friend’s home where over the course of the evening more than 50 people drop in. 

Half of New Yorkers say that they are comfortable going to an outdoor event at which people celebrate the holidays. Only 16 percent would be comfortable going to a work party with more than 25 people and 26 percent would attend a gathering at a restaurant at which everyone is seated for the entire event.

“For so many New Yorkers, 2020 has been a difficult year. Today, unfortunately 54 percent think that the worst of the coronavirus pandemic is still to come. But two-thirds have vowed to not let COVID-19 ruin the holidays. Still, looking to the future, 85 percent of state residents are hopeful that 2021 will be a better year than 2020 has been,” Levy said. 

The SRI survey of holiday spending plans was conducted Nov. 4-10, by random telephone calls to 803 New York adults via landline and cell phones. SRI reports this data at a 95 percent confidence level with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 points including the design effects resulting from weighting.