More Americans Than Ever Say They Won’t Buy Christmas Gifts This Year

According to a holiday retail survey conducted by Deloitte this year, around 11% of Americans say they don't plan on purchasing a single Christmas gift this year, the highest number since the survey began in the 1980s.

CNBC compared this year's share with past Christmas seasons:

Consumers cited inflation concerns as a reason they plan to spend less on gifts. In addition, 75% of shoppers are concerned that supply chain disruptions will halt their shipping and/or that electronics, accessories, toys, and hobby products will be out of stock.

However, the National Retail Federation still predicts that holiday retail sales will rise 8.5% to 10.5% from last year, a new record gain.

How does that add up? It's a tale of two holidays:

“This tale of two holidays is a pretty good reflection of the tale of two pandemics, right?” said Stephen Rogers, executive director of Deloitte’s consumer industry division. “What starts off as a health crisis turns into a financial crisis if you’re in the lower-income .”

Here's a closer look at Rogers' statement:

Almost two-thirds of those not buying gifts earn less than $50,000 per year. Those earning over $100,000 said they expect to spend $2,624 on gifts, an increase of 15% from last year. 

“Those of us who have investments in 401ks did quite well,” Rogers, a loathsome elitist, said in a gesture of self-congratulations. “You can see from 2019 to 2021, the lower income group is spending almost half of what they used to spend. And the higher income group is almost double what they used to spend two years ago.”

So not the most encouraging survey to find. While retailers will balance inflation with higher costs for gifts that wealthy families like the Rogers' will purchase, children born into low-income households could miss out on Christmas gifts entirely.

Let's go somebody, right?