The average spend on holiday-related expenses will rise 3% from a year ago to $636, according to The NPD Group’s 2016 Holiday Purchase Intensions Survey. Fourteen percent of the 3,499 respondents said they would spend more this year while 17% said they’d spend less, nearly unchanged from last year, the group said in a Monday announcement. More than 20% of consumers said they spent more than they planned in 2015. Shoppers expect to do 38% of their shopping online, up from 33% last year. Clothing and accessories, entertainment, and toys are the top three planned gifts. “The lack of stand-out, must-have products this holiday season is benefiting the categories that are delivering on basic consumer wants, but marketers need to find new ways to engage and excite holiday shoppers to drive significant growth,” said Marshal Cohen, NPD’s chief industry analyst, in a statement.
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