Americans always spend more on Christmas than they say they anticipate.

Many take on debt they can't afford and put themselves into a credit card hole they then have to dig out of.

It seems that while prices have gone up, many people won't sacrifice the holiday season, even if they can't really afford it.

“If you were to only buy the same things you bought last Christmas, you’d likely have to spend more this year thanks to inflation,\\" LendingTree Chief Consumer Finance Analyst Matt Schulz shared.

\\"For many Americans, that means you either have to cut back on gifts or take on more debt. While people make lots of sacrifices to deal with higher prices, many may not want to sacrifice at the holidays, so debts continue to rise.”

LendingTree shared some data it compiled during the 2024 holiday season.

36% of Americans took on debt this holiday season, only 44% of whom had planned to.

Parents of young children were the most likely to take on debt, at 48%.

Those who went into debt took on an average of $1,181, up from $1,028 in 2023.

60% of those who took on debt say they’re stressed about it, with 69% of parents of young children saying so.
Additionally, 42% say they regret spending as much as they did, and 21% expect it’ll take five months or longer to pay it off. Another 20% are only making minimum payments.

Of those who took on holiday debt, 65% put purchases on a credit card and 24% on a store card.

With that in mind, 42% say the highest interest rate they’re paying is 200% or higher. Despite that, two-thirds (67%) won’t try to consolidate their debt.

Despite Americans' willingness to go into debt for holiday shopping, Costco's CFO Gary Millerchip recently shared some insights that suggest this year could see consumers showing more caution.

People turn to Costco for value on everyday household items and groceries, but they also buy a lot of discretionary items there. Millerchip used some key words in describing that spending trend during the warehouse club's third-quarter earnings call.

\\"Our buyers continue to do an excellent job finding new and exciting items at great values, which are resonating well with our members even as they remain very choiceful in their spending on discretionary items,\\" he shared.

When Costco notices customers being careful in their discretionary spending, that's a red flag to all other retailers. Still, the warehouse club did see some positive results and some slowing areas.

\\"In the quarter, gold and jewelry, majors, toys, housewares and home furnishings were all up double-digits. While we continue to grow share in most non-food departments, we are seeing some deceleration in year-over-year growth as we start to lap tougher compares in volume and gift card sales from a year ago,\\" he added.

Because Costco has ever-changing merchandise, it has more flexibility than some of its rivals, which must stock the expected items on their shelves.

\\"A lot of the focus the team has right now is, as we look at the impact of tariffs, where are the places we can work with our suppliers to find ways to be offsetting some of the impact of those, where are places where we could potentially be sourcing with them from different countries, if that's practical to minimize the impact,\\" Millerchip shared.

The CFO also noted that Costco can make changes to its merchandise mix.

\\"And in some cases, we're also looking at, I think, a benefit of being a limited SKU count model is we can look at rotating into different items and finding different assortment that makes more sense for the members,\\" he added.

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Millerchip provided an example of changing suppliers and raising prices.

\\"When we looked at — we also source flowers from Central and South America. We looked at that item and decided that while we were able to offset some of the tariffs through similar activity, we did increase some price there because we felt that that was something that the member would be able to absorb, and it was more of a discretionary item there,\\" he said.

“The paralyzing effects of economic uncertainty are starting to show up in short-term interruptions in discretionary consumer spending,” said Circana Chief Retail Industry Advisor Marshal Cohen in a press release.

“On top of the existing concerns around inflation and the cost of goods, consumers are being inundated by headwinds that are creating pockets of behavior changes that have yet to impact the big picture.”

That overall worry does not seem like it will have a major impact on holiday spending, despite the careful purchases Costco has seen.

\\"Consumers are approaching the 2025 holiday season with a mix of optimism and caution— finding room for gifts, travel, and gatherings even as they manage tighter budgets and rising prices. They expect to spend 4.6% more than last year, but most say higher costs, rather than stronger finances, are driving the increase,\\" according to a KPMG report.

Spending will not be equal across all income groups.

\\"That rising allocation is uneven, however: Higher-income households account for most of the expected gains, while lower incomes anticipate cutting back,\\" according to the KPMG study.

\\"Consumers have given themselves permission to prioritize their own needs. The brands that pivot to capture small moments of joy, without breaking the bank, will see an opportunity to grow this holiday season,” said KPMG U.S. Sector Leader Duleep Rodrigo.

This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Nov 17, 2025, where it first appeared in the Retail section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.