Americans slash holiday spending, but keep traveling
PWC finds gifts take the hit in 2025 budgets while travel, entertainment, and ai-powered trip planning stay resilient
U.S. is tightening for the first time since 2020, according to PwC’s 2025 consumer survey. While overall spend is projected to fall by 5%, Americans are protecting travel and entertainment budgets, which show a slight 1% increase. For the travel industry, this creates both challenges and opportunities: gift-giving is down, but demand for trips, experiences, and AI-powered planning tools is holding steady.
Key takeaways
- Overall decline: Total U.S. holiday spending will fall by 5% in 2025, the first drop since 2020.
- Travel exception: Travel and entertainment spending buck the trend with a 1% increase, even as gifts fall 11%.
- Generational divide: Gen Z slashes spending by 23% (after a 37% rise last year), while Boomers raise theirs by 5%.
- Travel demand: 44% of Americans plan to travel this holiday, led by Millennials and Gen Z (55% each), mainly to visit family and friends.
- Barriers to travel: Nearly half of non-travelers prefer to stay home; cost is a key obstacle, especially for Gen Z (50%).
- Value shift: Consumers are trading down in many purchases but see travel as essential—flexible fares and transparent fees drive trust.
- Short season crunch: A late Thanksgiving compresses the holiday window, likely concentrating short-trip bookings and last-minute demand.
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