More than one-third of Americans plan to spend at least $1,000 on holiday shopping this year, a significant increase from recent years and the highest share in at least 15 years, according to the CNBC All-America Economic Survey released Sunday, a sign of widening prosperity among U.S. households. The survey, conducted Dec. 4-8 among 1,000 adults nationwide, found 36 percent of respondents plan to spend $1,000 or more on holiday gifts, up from 29 percent last year and 32 percent in 2022. The figure represents a substantial shift from the early 2010s, when only about one-in-four Americans planned to spend at that level. The increase in high-end holiday spending comes as 60 percent of Americans report having money invested in the stock market, including retirement accounts, near historic highs for the survey. The correlation suggests wealth effects from strong equity performance may be supporting discretionary spending for a broader share of households than in previous decades.
