A new study published by the National Retail Federation (NRF) reported that this year’s holiday sales are set to surpass last year’s season by 3% and 4%, setting a record of more than $957 billion. According to WalletHub, Frisco shoppers are expected to chip in an average of $3,546 per household to the record-breaking season.
“It is not surprising to see holiday sales growth returning to pre-pandemic levels,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said in a statement. “Overall household finances remain in good shape and will continue to support the consumer’s ability to spend.”
According to the NRF report, holiday sales have consistently grown year-over-year since 2009, with a significant spike of 9.1% in 2020 and a whopping 12.7% in 2021 that the federation attributes to the pandemic stimulus programs. As the federal financial aid programs end, this year’s forecast will return to a slower growth rate, closer to the decade-long trend.
“Lots of data are pointing to consumers running out of pandemic savings,” Yao (Henry) Jin, Ph.D. and associate professor of supply chain management at Miami University told WalletHub. “To sustain a newly elevated lifestyle, consumers are running up record amounts of credit card debts.”
Even with the second-highest credit card debt increase in 2023, Frisco is not the only Texas city to add to this year’s growth. In North Texas alone, six cities made it into the top 100 cities. Allen and Plano landed among the top 30, with a holiday spending budget of $2,964 and $2,566 respectively. McKinney and Carrollton landed places 56 and 67 with a budget of $2,165 and $1,928 each. On place number 77, Richardson’s budget for this year sits at $1,809 and North Richland Hills’ at $1,706 ranking at place 99.
The study considered five key characteristics of the population, such as income, age, and the ratio of savings to monthly expenses to come up with the ranking.
