Analysts predict jolly sales this holiday season
Bill for average Houston family this holiday: $1,512
The average Houston family is forecast to spend slightly less than the national average over the holiday season as consumer confidence here continues to build after the recent oil bust, according to a survey by the accounting and consulting firm Deloitte.
Houston families plan to spend an average of $1,512, compared to $1,536 nationally, according to the survey. Nearly half of Houston families said their finances are better than last year, and nearly threequarters of families said they plan to spend as much or more this holiday season than last year, according to Deloitte.
“There was a little bit of a pullback in Houston during the downturn in energy prices,” said Jeff Buhr, a partner and retail expert at Deloitte. “But this year, Houstonians are reporting a really strong household financial situation. It’s up quite a bit over the past couple of years.”
Deloitte surveyed 409 Houston families in September. Deloitte expects local spending to rise from last year but couldn’t make a comparison because it was unable to conduct its survey here in September 2017 because of devastation of Hurricane Harvey.
Three of 5 of the surveyed said they plan to start their holiday shopping before Thanksgiving. These early shoppers are expected to spend nearly $500 more than late starters. Nationally, early shoppers will spend about $370 more than those starting later, according to Deloitte.
The most popular gifts in Houston include gift cards, clothing, toys, food and liquor, and books. About 55 percent of Houstonians said they plan to buy a gift for themselves this holiday season.
The biggest share of Houstonians surveyed — a little more than half — said they plan to shop online, followed by at major bigbox retailers and traditional department stores. About 28 percent of local families said they will shop at dollar stores, compared to just 17 percent of families nationally.