Although many are unhappy with the current state of our economy, it is predicted that many Americans will ramp up their holiday spending this season.
“My wife and I have been doing our Christmas shopping, and it’s definitely more than we had budgeted compared to last year,” said Greg Hinojos, who was visiting from Arizona.
Despite worries about inflation, Americans will spend an average of $975 this holiday season, according to a poll done by Gallup in November.
“Hopefully we can spend less than that but the way prices are I doubt it, it’ll probably be more,” said Garcia.
Felipe Garcia and his family will be doing a Secret Santa gift exchange to save money.
“There’s only so much you can do especially with five daughters, that’s what we have,” said Garcia.
One Oceano resident said he is barely getting by on minimum wage this year.
“Gifts from the heart is where this holiday is going. You can’t buy anything anymore,” added Etreyu Riviera -Lebed.
While many people may feel the same way, there’s overall a big increase in holiday shoppers this year compared to last year according to Gallup.
At Chrisy’s Cottage, the owner said they‘ve been able to weather the negative impacts of the economy thanks to their customers.
“We tend to keep our prices down because we have loyal customers that have been coming for thirty years,” explained Chrisy Wickstrom.
Citizens Bank has some holiday shopping tips: make your holiday shopping list ahead of time, know the best time to shop during the holidays, find ways to save on holiday shopping, and avoid last-minute holiday shopping.