season quickly approaches, PwC’s annual holiday outlook report finds that executives are generally more optimistic. The company is predicting holiday spending to surge to its highest level recorded with a 7 percent increase in spending
Putting travel’s notable increase into context, Pedersen said the company’s survey findings indicate that whereas increased travel spend was recently due to revenge spending, a more significant shift in consumer priorities is also now at play. The Gen Z consumer, for example, is choosing to put more of their budget in the travel category as spending increases.
According to PwC’s holiday consumer survey, 77 percent of consumers are on the hunt for deals this holiday season, citing efforts to counteract rising prices, compared to 74 percent in 2022. Eighty-six percent of consumers also said they plan to cut back on discretionary spending in at least one area including eating out, shopping for clothes and going out to movies or concerts. Some consumers said they would switch to non-branded products.
Notably this holiday season represents the first after a summer of female empowerment coming from the Barbie movie and both Beyoncé’s and Taylor Swift’s tours and as such, PwC’s report found that women are planning to spend 11 percent more than they did in 2022. While women are still expected to spend significantly less than men , Pedersen told WWD the finding is interesting as it shows how the summer’s events have “created this really interesting dynamic in the economy.