37% of millennials ‘want to cry’ when they think about holiday spending

Although holiday spending is expected to still be somewhat strong this year despite rising costs, younger consumers are likely going to be cautious about their spending.

We’re talking, of course, about Gen Z and millennial shoppers in the US who say they’ll be carefully planning their spending this year, according to a new consumer behavior survey led by Qualtrics on behalf of Intuit Credit Karma.

Canceling Christmas? In fact, because of the cost, about a quarter of American consumers would prefer it if the holidays were canceled this year, and 59% said they’ll likely take on debt this season, the survey found.

Regardless, to meet their spending needs and obligations, young consumers will be making sacrifices in other areas, “including limiting their contributions to savings (26%), holiday decorations (23%), and hosting holiday parties (22%).” A fifth of Gen Z respondents said they’d go so far as to cut out daily necessities.

Things are even more dire for some people: 22% of respondents said they wouldn’t be able to afford any gifts at all, “citing the rising cost of living (62%), living paycheck to paycheck (52%), and inflation (47%).” Further, 28% of Gen Z and millennials said student loan payments will put a crimp in their holiday spending. Other factors like credit card debt also contributed to their concerns, the survey found.

Meanwhile, 37% of millennials and 42% of Gen Zers stated that they “want to cry when they think about how much the holidays will cost them this year.”