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WASHINGTON, D.C.: As Americans head into the heart of the holiday shopping season, many say festive spending feels more stressful than joyful, weighed down by stubbornly high prices and economic unease, according to a new AP-NORC poll.
Large majorities of U.S. adults report noticing higher-than-usual costs for groceries, electricity, and holiday gifts in recent months, the survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found. Many say they are dipping into savings, hunting more aggressively for bargains, or cutting back on discretionary spending.
About half of Americans say it is more complicated than usual to afford the gifts they want to give, while similar numbers report delaying big purchases or reducing nonessential spending more than they typically would during the holidays.
The findings present a challenge for President Donald Trump, who returned to the White House promising to bring prices down. Instead, inflation remains a persistent drag on public sentiment, much as it was during Democratic President Joe Biden’s term. The poll closely mirrors an AP-NORC survey from December 2022, when inflation was running much hotter, but consumer frustration looked strikingly similar.
Trump’s tariffs have added to inflationary pressures and heightened concerns about economic stability, keeping prices at levels many Americans say remain difficult to manage. The president has rejected those concerns, insisting the economy is strong.
“When will people understand what is happening?” Trump said last week on Truth Social. “When will Polls reflect the Greatness of America at this point, and how bad it was just one year ago?”
Still, 68 percent of U.S. adults describe the economy as “poor,” unchanged from December 2024, just before Trump returned to office.
White House officials plan to send Trump traveling around the country in hopes of boosting confidence ahead of next year’s midterm elections. But comments he made this week in Pennsylvania, suggesting Americans buy fewer dolls and pencils for children because of tariff-related price increases, contrasted sharply with what many respondents described in the poll, including some who supported him in 2024.
Sergio Ruiz, 44, of Tucson, Arizona, said he is relying more on buy-now-pay-later programs to spread out the cost of gifts for his children. Though not deeply political, Ruiz voted for Trump last year and hopes interest rates fall to help his real estate business.
“Prices are up. What can you do? You need to make more money,” Ruiz said.
The poll found that roughly half of Americans are more focused than usual on finding the lowest price when they shop, while about four in ten say they are tapping into savings more than at other times.
Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say they are cutting back or bargain-hunting, but many Republicans are adjusting as well. About four in ten Republicans say they are searching for low prices more than usual, and a similar share reports buying fewer nonessential items.
Public attitudes toward holiday shopping look much like they did in 2022, when inflation surged to a four-decade high. Although inflation has since cooled to about three percent, it remains above the Federal Reserve’s two percent target, and the job market shows signs of slowing.
The survey suggests it is the absolute level of prices — not just the pace of inflation — that continues to strain household budgets. Nearly nine in ten adults say grocery prices are higher than usual, while about two-thirds report higher electricity and holiday gift prices. About half say gas prices also feel elevated.
Consumer spending has held up despite widespread pessimism, but Trump’s tariffs have changed how some people shop. Andrew Russell, a 33-year-old adjunct professor in Arlington Heights, Illinois, said he now avoids online purchases from abroad.
“This year, I only bought things that I can pick up in person,” said Russell, who voted Democratic and worries that heavy investment in artificial intelligence could be forming a bubble that might hurt markets next year.
Looking ahead, few Americans expect meaningful improvement. About four in ten say the economy will be worse next year, roughly three in ten expect little change, and only about two in ten think conditions will improve. Republicans are more optimistic than Democrats, but overall optimism has declined from last year.
Millicent Simpson, 56, of Cleveland, Ohio, said she expects the economy to worsen for people like her who depend on Medicaid and food assistance programs.
“He’s making it rough for us,” said Simpson, who voted Democratic. “He’s messing with the government assistance for everybody, young and old.
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