Holiday Budgets Climb 9.7% as Shoppers Trim Gift Lists

U.S. shoppers plan to spend $1,243 on the holidays this season, up 9.7% from last year, according to JLL’s recently released 2026 holiday shopping survey. However, the extra money is going to the celebration rather than the presents, as gift spending budgets barely moved.

“After a season of trimming in 2025, Americans are determined to have a happy holiday season this year, replete with delicious food, festive décor and fun holiday experiences,” the report said.

Furthermore:

• Gift budgets increased by 3.1% year-over-year, making up 48.1% of the season’s budget
• Spending on food and decorations is up by 16%
• Funds directed to entertainment and dining out increased by 17.3%

“In 2025, the advice to centers was simple. Keep shoppers longer, and they will spend more,” the report said.

But this year, the advice changed a bit. Longer isn’t better. Planned spending peaks at $1,594 for shoppers expecting to stay 60 to 75 minutes, then drops to $1,217 for those staying longer than 90 minutes.

This year, the increase is in the number of stores a shopper plans to visit. Shoppers planning one or two retail categories budget about $570, while those planning seven or more budget just over $2,000.

“Stretching a visit takes benches, music and coffee. Widening one takes cross-category offers, clear directories and signage that points people toward stores they had not planned on, and it reaps bigger rewards,” JLL said.

JLL said that the share of shoppers planning a mall visit rose to 55.3% from 49.9 percent in 2025. And, while online delivery still led the way, it fell to 80% from 83.9% the year before.

JLL also pointed out that:

• 20.8% of shoppers said they plan to buy something to eat or drink on each trip, up from 12.2% in 2025
• Planned shopping on Black Friday fell to 39,8% in-store and 55.1% online
• Cyber Monday shopping dropped to 46.9% from 55.2%
• In-store shopping on Thanksgiving day rose to 31.8% from 25.8%, driven by households earning over $150,000.

JLL offered a caveat concerning shorter gift lists in light of higher CPI growth and gas prices. The report noted that 71.6% of shoppers say rising prices will affect their holiday spending.

Additionally, “Shopping for fewer people rose to 28.9% from 24.9%. Last season shoppers protected the length of the gift list and traded down on what went on it,” the report said.

“This year, more of them are cutting names, which costs more than trading down, because a dropped recipient is a lost sale rather than a smaller one.”

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