For many Americans, ‘tis the season of giving gifts, stuffing stockings and racking up more credit card debt.
Roughly 36% of Americans took on new credit card debt during the 2024 holiday season, accruing an average of $1,181, according to a survey conducted by LendingTree. That debt wasn’t on anyone’s wish lists — just 44% of those shoppers intended to take on new debt this season, the survey found.
Holiday debt wasn’t distributed equally. Shoppers earning six-figure annual salaries took on the most debt, the survey found, at an average of $1,429, while those earning between $30,000 and $49,000 annually accrued an average of $909 in debt this holiday season.
Overall, consumer prices were up during this year’s holiday shopping season compared to 2023. The Consumer Price Index, which measures the average price shoppers pay for a basket of frequently bought items, was up 2.7% year-over-year, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released in November.
Shoppers this year racked up more debt than they did in 2023. Last year, Americans accrued an average of $1,028 in new credit card debt during the holidays, per the LendingTree survey.
Americans’ collective credit card debt has ballooned in recent years. At the beginning of the year, U.S. shoppers owed more than $1 trillion in credit card debt, per CNBC. The average American was carrying $6,501 in credit card debt at the time.
That didn’t stop shoppers from shelling out this holiday season. Spending at retail stores was up 3.8% year-over-year from Nov. 1 through Christmas Eve, with 10% of it occurring in the last five days of that period. In-store sales were up 2.9%, while online sales rose 6.7%.
Shares