Will the economy play Scrooge to holiday shopping this year? Here's what consumers told us

KEY POINTS

A new Deseret News/Hinckley Institute poll explored consumers' holiday spending plans.

Overall spending is expected to increase, but many families are tightening their budgets.

More online holiday shopping likely to drive most of the spending increase.

Despite U.S. economic conditions that are pummeling consumers with persistent inflation, skyrocketing housing costs and a softening labor market, retail experts predict the 2025 holiday shopping season will easily top last year’s spending volumes.

But insights gathered in a new Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll show that many consumers are making cost-conscious adjustments to their household holiday budgets this year under the cloud of mounting fiscal challenges.

In its annual holiday retail sales forecast ,