Holiday shopping tips to help consumers during inflation

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) - Rising costs have weighed on Americans for majority of 2022, but despite inflation, Americans are expected to spend more this holiday season than last year.

The National Retail Federation (NRF) predicts holiday sales will increase between 6% and 8% this November and December over 2021.

“We’re actually seeing that holiday sales are up about 6-8% but if you factor in the cost of inflation, that actually means that sales are down a little bit this year,” UT Tyler Professor of Marketing Dr. Kerri Camp said.

According to the NRF, over 166 million people are planning to shop starting Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday. That’s 8 million more than last year. Camp said people are shopping earlier after facing supply chain disruptions.

“About 8 million more consumers will be shopping from Black Friday to Cyber Monday because they are trying to spread out the cost of those purchases and they’re also concerned that those prices might go up as they get closer to Christmas,” Camp said.

To combat inflation, “Consumers are buying fewer gifts,” Camp said. “They’re focusing more on purchasing experiences, rather than products. The number of gifts that people are purchasing are actually, last year it was about 13, and this year its 9.”

Nathan Grant, Senior finance industry analyst of MoneyTips, shares how you can shop smart amidst inflation.

First: Shop early and set up a preliminary budget. “It doesn’t have to be a hard number that you’re trying to stay under but it at least gives you something to shoot for, so you know you’re planning ahead,” Grant said.

Next: Figure out where you want to shop and with what form of payment. “If there’s a credit card that earns you rewards back for those purchases that you are making this year, you want to use those cards towards that,” Grant said.

Also, be aware of rewards available. “Chose credit cards that can earn you back rewards or cash back that you already are planning on paying this holiday,” Grant said.

Overall, go into the season with a plan. “A lot of the stuff that we feel from changes with inflation and stuff, those are things that are kind of beyond our control, so what we really have to do is step up on those things that we are personally responsible for.”