Financial stress is expected to lead to less spending amongst American consumers during the 2023 holiday season year when compared to 2022, according to a recent survey.

In a report published by Trustpilot September 6, entitled “Holiday Trust in Spending,” on average, Americans who shopped during the 2022 holiday season intend to spend 39% less on gifts during the 2023 holiday season.

Forty-three percent of responders said that increased prices would prevent them from shopping with a specific company this year, while 42% said that higher shipping costs would cause them to not buy products from a business.

If delivery prices end up increasing this holiday season, then 64% of American consumers would reduce their overall spending to offset the higher costs. Sixty-four percent would do their shopping in-store, and 60% would limit their shopping to only businesses that offer free shipping.

Consumers are blaming retailers (37%) and brands (25%) for holiday season shopping frustrations, not delivery companies. Moreover, shoppers would not consider working with a company again if they failed to confirm a shipment (61%), a delivery (56%), or provide information on how to make a return (41%).

“Last year’s mishaps damaged consumer trust, and with a tighter grip on their wallets this season, meeting consumer expectations will be key for retailers’ success,” said Mieke De Schepper, CCO of Trustpilot. “Based on experiences shopping online last holiday season, 30% of Americans trust businesses a lot to get them the products they need on time this year, and while that is promising, there is still more work to be done to increase that number.”

All data for the survey was collected by OnePoll, which conducted interviews with 2,000 U.S. adults who made purchases during the 2022 holiday season. The interviews took place from August 21 to August 24, 2023.