A new survey by WalletHub reveals that 52% of people say inflation may ruin Christmas. Other findings:
- 59% of people say their holiday budget is the same as in 2025. 20% say they plan to spend less.
- 32% of people describe their holiday budgets as stretched thin, while 1 in 4 say they are still paying off debt from last year's holiday season.
- 41% of people usually start holiday shopping in October or earlier, while 42% begin in November.
- 94% of people say shopping early helps them stay within their budget better than waiting until the last minute.
- 69% of people say buying gifts early saves them money.
- 79% of people plan to take advantage of Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals.
- 56% of people don't trust AI tools to find gifts and deals, while 65% said they trust Google to show them the best holiday deals at the top of search results.