Economic Headwinds Drive Deeper Shifts in Holiday Spending as Consumers Prioritize Future Essentials

40% of consumers plan to spend less on gifts; blame for inflation shifts away from corporations

RESTON, Va., Oct. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Resonate, the leader in AI-powered predictive consumer intelligence, today released its October 2025 Consumer Trends Report, revealing that economic uncertainty is significantly reshaping consumer plans for the holiday season. The report finds that while many previously made simple discretionary cuts, consumers now feel financially stuck, anticipating greater future strain from unavoidable cost-of-living increases. This mindset is driving drastic cuts to optional spending, with nearly 40% of Americans planning to spend less on gifts, and over half (54.5%) are skipping travel as they tighten their budgets amidst ongoing market shifts.

Key findings from the report include:

• Deep uncertainty persists despite easing concerns: The report highlights that while concerns about the U.S. economy have eased, deep uncertainty remains. Just 24.6% of Americans say they are highly concerned about the economy, down 28% from six months ago, yet 44% believe the economy will never return to "normal."
  
  
• Consumers are financially stuck and anticipating higher mandatory costs: A critical finding shows that consumers are past the point of easy cuts and now feel a deep lack of financial flexibility. They plan to allocate future spending increases primarily toward cost-of-living expenses outside of their control (e.g., housing, energy, utilities), clearly prioritizing unavoidable necessities over optional purchases.
  
  
• Blame for price inflation shifts to political leaders: Blame for price inflation has shifted away from corporations with consumers pointing primarily to President Trump (39.3%) and tariffs/trade policies (37.3%), while accusations of corporate price gouging have dropped by nearly 29% year-over-year.
  
  
• Holiday spending and travel plans are down: As the holidays approach, this price sensitivity is shaping shopping behavior. 39.6% plan to spend less on gifts, while 60.3% will head in-store for holiday shopping. Travel is also down, with more than half (54.5%) skipping trips.

"The holiday season is the ultimate test of a brand's ability to adapt. This data shows that consumers are navigating deep uncertainty, not just making minor budget cuts, but feeling truly stuck as they plan for unavoidable cost-of-living increases," said Bryan Gernert, CEO at Resonate. "They are making foundational choices about where to spend and prioritizing non-negotiable essentials over discretionary fun. Marketers who rely on old data will be left behind. The best way to win in this environment is to get ahead by understanding these shifting, foundational priorities and meet consumers where they are with targeted and relevant offerings."

Access the full Consumer Trends Report here.

About the Resonate Consumer Trends Report

The Resonate Consumer Trends Report is a bi-monthly report offering current sentiment shifts on key issues impacting American consumers. This analysis is powered by Resonate's proprietary system of AI-powered models known as rAI. rAI employs advanced AI algorithms to identify patterns and uncover correlations from a variety of sources, including the observation of 30B daily online behaviors, data from the US Consumer Study, and offline consumer data. This analysis allows Resonate to develop a deep understanding of consumer and voter values, preferences, motivations, and intent spanning 15,000+ attributes across 250 million US adults.

SOURCE Resonate