How much will consumers spend on upcoming holidays?

How much will consumers spend on upcoming holidays like Mother’s and Father’s Day, Memorial Day and the 2025 holiday season? 

Coresight Research's consumer sentiment survey finds that while spending is even or up for most holidays, looking ahead, consumers now expect to spend less overall compared to last year––a significant shift from the January 2025 survey, when net expectations to spend more were positive. Net 7.2% of respondents who celebrate the holidays expect their financial situation to be worse this holiday season than it is now—a significant shift from January 2025, when respondents were highly optimistic (net 23.4% expected their financial situation to be better).

Key findings from Coresight’s U.S. Consumer Survey Insights Extra: Seasonal Shopping, 2Q25—Expectations for Easter, Memorial Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day; Plus, Holiday 2025 Plans: 

Easter: Similar Spending to Last Year; Plans Vary by Gender

• About 56.9% of consumers plan to spend on Easter this year, with net 1.3% expecting to spend more on the holiday than they did last year. Coresight Research calculates a median spend of $100 on Easter per person.
• Men are more likely to dine out, while women are more likely to cook at home.

Memorial Day: Higher Spending, Driven by Financial Optimism

• More consumers expect to spend on Memorial Day this year (45%) than spent on the holiday in 2024 (39%). Furthermore, if actual behavior follows the same pattern as last year, more consumers will spend than expect to.
• Consumers feel optimistic about their financial situation this Memorial Day compared to last year, and net 2.7% of Memorial Day spenders expect to spend more than last year. Seven in 10 expect to spend at least $100.

Mother’s Day and Father’s Day: Head-to-Head

• Nearly three in five (57.9%) consumers expect to spend on Mother’s Day this year, versus two in five (41.3%) who expect to spend on Father’s Day.
• Coresight sees high expectations to participate in a range of activities for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day among consumers aged 30–44; this age group is the most likely to still have their own parents around while also being parents themselves.
• High-income consumers are more likely to participate in activities across the board for both Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.

2025 Holiday Preview: Consumers Turn Negative

• Looking ahead to holiday 2025, consumers now expect to spend less overall compared to last year––a significant shift from Coresight's January 2025 survey, when net expectations to spend more were positive.
• Net 7.2% of respondents who celebrate the holidays expect their financial situation to be worse this holiday season than it is now—a significant shift from January 2025, when respondents were highly optimistic (net 23.4% expected their financial situation to be better).
• Coresight tracked the trend of declining optimism in our recent weekly consumer surveys.
• High-income consumers are the only ones to hold positive expectations for their finances between now and the holiday season.
• Just over three in five consumers plan to start their holiday shopping early, and just over half plan to set a budget for holiday gifts.

1Q Recap—Valentine’s Day and Presidents’ Day

• A similar proportion of consumers (nearly three in five) actually spent on Valentine’s Day compared to the proportion that planned to do so. However, it appears that consumers who previously did not know if they would spend on the holiday chose not to.
• Dining at a restaurant, visiting family and friends, and shopping were the most popular activities on Presidents’ Day.

Looking ahead:

Looking ahead to the shopping holidays of the second quarter, consumers overall expect to spend more this year than last year on Easter, Memorial Day, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day—although they expect to spend less during the end-of-year holiday season compared to last year. This reflects that consumers are more worried about negative macroeconomic impacts in the medium term than in the short term.

For both Easter and Memorial Day, high proportions of consumers plan to socialize through home meals and barbecues, which will benefit grocery retailers, at the expense of eating out at a restaurant. 

For both Mother's Day and Father's Day, consumers aged 30–44 are most likely to engage in celebrations—including going shopping or giving/receiving gifts—indicating an opportunity for retailers to focus on that age bracket. All age groups report plans to socialize during the holiday, with high expectations to meet up with friends or family and cook a meal at home.

For the end-of-year holiday season, consumers overall now plan to spend less compared to holiday 2024, most likely due to recent tariff uncertainty, government layoffs and an inflationary environment (though inflation eased in February 2025, resulting in overall consumer sentiment steadying in the last couple of weeks. 

Coresight said it will continue to track expectations over time alongside changes in the macroeconomic situation. Meanwhile, retailers should be cautious of financial concern among lower-income consumers, as well as the continued potential impacts of tariffs.