We're now in full swing when it comes to the shopping season. Or at least we should be. Hanukkah starts later on Thursday, and Christmas Eve is just a little over three weeks away. It's typically the best time for retailers. Except American shoppers are hurting this year thanks to inflation, and Bidenomics certainly isn't helping. It's no wonder, then, that shoppers would be planning to cut back this year, leading to an even more fear and pessimism on the economy.
On Thursday, Monmouth University released a poll about the Christmas season. But don't let the headline on "America’s Favorite Christmas Cookie" fool you when it comes to holiday cheer. The subheadline reveals that "Increasing number this year report holiday spending cutbacks." The poll's write-up notes it's in fact because of inflation.
When asked have you "cut back your shopping list this year because of high prices," 55 percent responded that they have, with 36 percent indicating they've cut back "a lot."
The number is particularly high among those making less than $50,000, with 67 percent saying they're cutting back this year. The poll's crosstabs show that 54 percent of this demographic say they've cut back "a lot."
NATIONAL POLL: 55% of Americans are cutting back on their holiday shopping list this year due to high prices – up from 46% last year and 40% in 2021.
— MonmouthPoll (@MonmouthPoll) December 7, 2023
CUT BACK by INCOME:
<$50,000 – 67% (48% in 2022)
$50K-100K – 51% (49%)
>$100,000 – 48% (42%)https://t.co/5ROEfdDh8M
The poll went on to highlight other aspects of Christmas, such as what holiday traditions respondents are participating in, if they think they'll be on the "nice" list, and what is their favorite Christmas cookie, if they have one.
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The president and this administration really pushed Bidenomics over the past recent months, but the poll showed that shoppers are actually cutting back more this year in comparison to last year.
A statement from Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute, nevertheless focused on the spending factor, as was mentioned in the poll's write-up:
A majority of Americans (55%) report cutting back on their holiday shopping list this year because of high prices. This number has steadily increased from 46% who said the same last year and 40% in 2021. This increase in cuts to holiday shopping has happened among all demographic groups, but is greatest among those earning less than $50,000 a year. Fully two-thirds (67%) of this lower income group have cut back this year compared with just under half (48%) who said the same in 2022.
“The rate of inflation may be slowing but the damage has been done after a long stretch of rising prices. There could be a number of reasons why more are cutting back this season. Perhaps those who kept to their usual spending habits as we came out of the pandemic are seeing it catch up with them now. Or maybe their budgets are the same, but they are exchanging fewer gifts or buying for fewer people. Whatever the reason, there is greater pessimism on the holiday gift-giving front,” said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute.
The poll was conducted November 30-December 4 with 803 adults in the United States and a margin of error of plus or minus 4.8 percentage points.
Despite this narrative about how "[t]he rate of inflation may be slowing," Spencer has covered how the numbers are not the good news that the Democrats have tried to spin it out to be. It also can't be emphasized enough that inflation is still higher than when former President Donald Trump was in office. Among the last 11 presidents, Biden has the third highest inflation rate, at 5 percent, according to a recent GoBankingRates piece. Trump had the second lowest, at 1.4 percent. Only President George W. Bush fared better, being the only president on the list to have a 0.0 percent rate.
It's not just Thursday's Monmouth poll, though. Headlines have been expressing concerns for weeks now:
- CNBC, November 6: "The holiday spending outlook is sluggish across thousands of retailers: CNBC Supply Chain Survey"
- Reuters, November 21: "US retailers brace for a tough holiday season despite discounts"
- USA Today, November 22: "Consumers grow cautious about holiday spending as inflation, debt shorten shopping lists"
- The New York Times, November 23: "Retailers Worry About Shoppers’ Mood This Holiday Season"
Thursday also saw a much different narrative from White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre during the press briefing as she took a question from a reporter about "a disconnect" on what Americans are actually seeing, and what this administration continues to claim.
"Let me just be real clear," Jean-Pierre offered, who then went on to claim "we are seeing lowering costs as we're going into this holiday season, as people are going to do some holiday shopping." She credited that to the Biden administration, and to Bidenomics when claiming "we're seeing that we're in a different place today than we were a year ago," stressing "we are just in a different place," because of "the work that we have done."
When it came to actually answering the reporter's question, Jean-Pierre referenced the pandemic. She also blamed the Trump administration, just as she's done countless times before, including and especially on economic matters.
KARINE JEAN-PIERRE: "We are seeing lowering costs as we're going into the holiday season!"
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) December 7, 2023
(False) pic.twitter.com/cbcW3ZZZ8o
Celebrating Christmas is more than just presents, but these are nevertheless not numbers or sentiments that retailers want to see, or the Biden administration, should they stop gaslighting on the economy.
According to RealClearPolitics (RCP), Biden has an overall 34.3 percent approval rating on inflation, while 62.8 percent disapprove. He has a 37.3 percent approval rating on the economy, while 60.5 percent disapprove. Polls consistently show that respondents favor Trump over Biden on the economy. During his time in office, he had a 52.2 percent approval rating on he economy according to RCP.
As Americans continue to sour on the economy as well as inflation, and with Biden's multiple posts from various accounts on those key issues continuing to get hit with Community Notes on X, it's no wonder that the president's fellow Democrats look to be fleeing from Bidenomics. Jean-Pierre denied as much during Thursday's briefing, though, especially as she herself used the term.
Karine Jean-Pierre insists Biden has not moved away from his disastrous "Bidenomics" branding, even though he hasn't mentioned the word in more than a month pic.twitter.com/IB4eLUuqrM
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) December 7, 2023
How Americans feel about shopping for next year's holiday season will definitely be interesting to see, especially since at this point, the 2024 presidential election will have just taken place, and someone other than Biden could very well have been elected.
Not only does Trump hold an edge over Biden for his handling of the economy, but for the 2024 general election in a rematch of 2020. He currently leads by +2.1, with 46.6 percent support to Biden's 44.5 percent, according to RCP.
