Increased prices weigh on Individuals’ vacation buying plans: CNBC survey 

As many Individuals proceed to really feel pinched by an uneven economic system, new knowledge spotlight the toll of upper prices on deliberate buying habits this vacation season. 

Practically 80 p.c of Individuals say issues are costlier this yr and 4 in ten plan to spend much less because of this, in accordance with the CNBC|SurveyMonkey 2025 Small Enterprise Saturday Survey. Amongst these planning to spend much less, the deepest cutbacks will probably be in buying items for others, with 60 p.c of those respondents citing these plans. As well as, practically half say they plan to dine out much less and spend much less on items for themselves, big-ticket purchases, and leisure.

Tariffs, which have been a key concern for a lot of retailers, had practically a breakeven impact on respondents, with 40% of Individuals saying they plan to spend much less for the vacations resulting from tariffs and 39% citing no influence.

The research was carried out Nov. 14-Nov. 17 amongst greater than 2,000 adults within the U.S. utilizing the SurveyMonkey platform.

Within the face of upper bills, the overwhelming majority of Individuals say they nonetheless plan to buy this vacation season (82%), however a lot of the spending will happen exterior the large deal days. An equal 82% of respondents say they plan to do their vacation buying exterior of the busy Thanksgiving weekend.

Whereas solely 15% mentioned they do most of their buying on main dates like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the favored sale days nonetheless draw a good quantity of buyers, at 45% and 39%, respectively.

Small Enterprise Saturday continues to be a key buying date for practically 1 / 4 of Individuals, however respondents say they’re restricted by each native consciousness of the day and better sticker costs this yr.

For individuals who say they don’t seem to be buying on Small Enterprise Saturday this yr, 41% cite a lack of expertise of native companies, whereas 1 / 4 cite greater costs than bigger retailers, and practically a fifth cite much less handy delivery choices.  

To avoid wasting this yr, practically half say they may spend much less on non-essentials, whereas a 3rd say they may use coupons or loyalty purchases. Seventeen p.c have a vacation funds, with youthful buyers within the Gen Z and millennial cohort more likely to depend on budgets this yr, providing additional proof that this group is being squeezed greater than others within the present financial local weather.