High prices sap holiday cheer as many Americans cut back on purchases: survey
Ho, ho… oh, no!Many Americans are dipping into savings to buy gifts and hunting for sales this holiday season as they voice pessimism about the economy, a new AP-NORC poll found.About half of Americans say it’s harder than usual to afford the gifts they want to give this year, according to the survey by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.One out of every two Americans also say they are cutting back on non-essential purchases and delaying big buys, the poll found.The results come as inflation has been raging across the country — and Americans have noticed.The survey found 89% of respondents feel grocery prices have gone up.
About seven in 10 say the same about the cost of electricity.A little over 60% of Americans say holiday prices have gone up, too.Nearly seven in 10 US adults — 68% — rate the economy as “poor.” The figure was the same in December 2024, before President Donald Trump reentered office.He has spent recent weeks addressing inflation, saying economic challenges are former President Joe Biden’s fault.“Americans continue to reel from the lingering effects of Joe Biden’s generational economic crisis,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement.“Turning the Biden economic disaster around has informed nearly every action the Trump administration has taken since Day One, from unleashing American energy to cut gas prices to signing historic drug pricing deals to cut costs for American patients.”“Much work remains, and every member of the Trump administration continues to focus on recreating the historic job, wage, and economic growth that Americans enjoyed during President Trump’s first term,” Desai added.The new poll results were on par with consumer sentiment from December 2022, when inflation was surging.
While inflation has cooled from its peak, Americans say relief hasn’t shown up where it matters most: prices on store shelves.That reality is forcing shoppers to get strategic.Around ...