Expect fewer holiday gifts but more cheer

People had to pull back on gifts last year, given the economic uncertainty, and they realized what's important.

More than half of Americans in a survey out Wednesday say they plan to spend more during the end-of-year holidays this year compared to 2008 as concerns about the economy subside.

The projected spending boost at Christmas, Hannukah and Kwanza won't come from more or more expensive gifts, but rather from spending on items like entertainment and home decoration, which traditionally account for a smaller portion of the holiday budget, said the annual Deloitte holiday survey of retail spending and trends.

More than half -- 54 percent -- of the 10,878 consumers surveyed for Deloitte's poll said they expect the economy will improve in 2010, and nearly a quarter thought the United States was already in the early stages of recovery from the downturn.

- We have had stabilization in the housing market; the tax burden on the consumer is less, real wages are higher and the combination of all that is what's leading to consumer's intent to spend a little more on the holidays than they did last year - Stacy Janiak, head of Deloitte's retail group, which conducted the survey, told AFP.

- But they indicated that both the number and dollar amount of gifts are declining - Janiak said.

The average number of gifts Americans plan to purchase declined to 18 from 21.5 last year, while the amount consumers plan to spend on gifts was down to 452 dollars this year compared with 532 dollars in 2008, the survey, which Deloitte has compiled since 1985, showed.

Expenditures on socializing, entertaining, non-gift clothing and home or holiday furnishings are expected to boost holiday spending, the study said.

- People had to pull back on gifts last year, given the economic uncertainty, and they realized what's more important: the gift or bringing people together? - said Janiak.

- We also see non-gift clothing and home and holiday furnishings rising. Those items aren't made to last forever and if those purchases weren't made last year at this time, it's another reason that consumers are tending to enter that space again - she said.