Just because the holidays have come and gone does not mean the holiday shopping season is over. Its final act is actually just beginning.
Many people have unwanted gifts they’d like to return, which can lead to more shopping plus a fair amount of frustration. Plenty of us also have holiday debt to deal with and financial resolutions we’re trying to stick to.
With that in mind, WalletHub conducted a nationally representative online survey to see how consumers have handled this unique holiday shopping season (so far) as well as to gauge people’s financial expectations for the new year as we continue to battle COVID-19. You can find the complete results in the following infographic.
Key Stats
- 39% of Americans overspent during the holidays.
- 1 in 3 Americans say the 2020 holiday season was worth going into debt for – a 46% increase over last year.
- 2 in 5 Americans say COVID-19 did not affect their holidays.
- 53% of Americans think the U.S. economy will not go back to normal in 2021.
- Nearly 1 in 3 Americans say 2020 as a “poor” year for their finances.
- Roughly 164M Americans are worried about saving enough money – almost double than the number of Americans worried about getting out of debt.
Survey Methodology
This report reflects the results of a nationally representative online survey of nearly 1,300 respondents.
After we collected all responses, we normalized the data by age, gender and income so the sample would reflect U.S. demographics.
Full Details Overall
| What would you do to get out of debt? (select all that apply) | |
|---|---|
| Cut out "Luxuries" | 71% |
| Work Longer Hours | 56% |
| Skip Vacations | 55% |
| Give up Social Media | 21% |
| Declare Bankruptcy | 10% |
| Rob a Bank | 3% |
| Cheat on My Taxes | 2% |
| Which are you worried about more? | |
| Saving enough money | 64% |
| Getting out of debt | 36% |
| Do you expect to have more, less or the same amount of credit card debt at the end of 2021? | |
| Less | 42% |
| Same amount | 38% |
| More | 20% |
| Did COVID-19 affect your holiday spending more or less than anticipated? | |
| It did not affect my holidays | 43% |
| More | 37% |
| Less | 20% |
| How was 2020 on your finances? | |
| OK | 44% |
| Poor | 30% |
| Good | 26% |
| Do you plan on getting a new credit card in 2021 for better rewards and/or lower interest rates? | |
| No | 56% |
| Yes | 44% |
| When will you pay off your holiday shopping debt? | |
| By the end of January | 56% |
| By the end of February | 17% |
| April or later | 17% |
| By the end of March | 10% |
| Did you overspend this holiday season? | |
| No | 61% |
| Yes | 39% |
| When do you think the U.S. economy will go back to normal? | |
| Not in 2021 | 53% |
| September | 22% |
| June | 15% |
| March | 10% |
| Are the holidays worth going into credit card debt? | |
| No | 74% |
| Yes | 26% |
Note: Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding.