Tuesday, January 21, 2025

Does a Strong Holiday Shopping Season Mean a Better Year Ahead? No, it just means that shoppers took on more credit card debt!

 
Top headline:  New York Times, 1/20/2025
Photo by Retiring Guy
Bottom headline:  Retail Wire, 12/27/2024

From Retail Wire:
Consumers took on more debt to pay for this holiday shopping season. New findings by Lending Tree revealed that 36% of Americans used some form of credit during the holidays, and 44% of them did not plan to. Up from 2023’s $1,028 per person average, U.S. shoppers added around $1,181 to their debt balances in 2024. 
Roughly 65% of consumers made purchases with credit cards, and almost one-quarter used a store card. Buy now, pay later financing paid for 21% of purchases, and 19% of consumers took out a personal loan.

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