A new Siena College survey shows that holiday gift spending among New Yorkers will be pretty similar to what it was last year.
The survey shows that more than half of those polled will spend under $500, according to survey director, Don Levy.
“We track consumer sentiment, consumer sentiment across New York State has continued to rise over the last couple of years, but when we turn around and we say to people, tell us about your holiday spending plans, we get well over half, 57 percent say ‘I want to keep my holiday spending plans the same as last year, about a third actually say they want to bring down the amount they spend.’"
The survey shows that just 9 percent of New Yorkers plan to spend more than last year.
And Levy says by a two-to-one margin, New Yorkers say as much as they are able to, they will buy practical gifts rather than splurging on special items.
The survey does show that more than three-quarters of New Yorkers will be making donations of money, food or gifts to charitable organizations during the holiday season.
