REPORT: U.S. Consumers Will Go Into Credit Card Debt, Use Buy Now Pay Later to Afford Holiday This Year
1 in 5 (22%) U.S. consumers are more stressed about being able to actually find gifts to purchase this year than being able to afford them
July 24, 2025, AUSTIN – Invoice Home, a leading invoice template software designed to meet the invoicing needs of small businesses, freelancers, and entrepreneurs worldwide today released its second annual “Holiday Spending” Survey, revealing the impact the U.S. economy will have on consumer spending this holiday season. Conducted with third-party research firm Censuswide, the data shows Americans will prioritize gifting, no matter the impact to their wallets with more than one-third (37%) believing that buying gifts is more important than a credit card balance this season.
Navigating spending
25 percent of U.S. consumers plan to use Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services to navigate holiday spending this year, followed by ChatGPT/AI (16%). Gen Z (20%) and Millennial (19%) respondents in particular plan to cover holiday expenses in 2025 by leveraging BNPL services. Other ways include:
- 27% of Millennials plan to go into credit card debt (2024 -21%)
- 40% of Gen Z plan to dip into savings (2024 -32%)
To make ends meet during the season, these generations are willing to delay bill payments by:
- 2-3 weeks – 26% Gen Z, 30% Millennials
- 1-2 months – 10% Gen Z, 16% Millennials
If prices continue to increase due to inflation/external economic factors, Gen Z and Millennials will also consider the following to save money during the holidays:
- Not travel – 46% Gen Z, 30% Millennials
- Opt out of gifting - 30% Gen Z, 27% Millennials
- Thrift gifts – 38% Gen Z, 26% Millennials
- Push celebrating the holiday to 2026 when it’s less expensive – 16% Gen Z, 16% Millennials
“This data shows that consumers aren’t shifting away from spending but being strategic in how they spend and in how they’ll afford the season,” said Petr Marek, Co-Founder and CEO at Invoice Home. “With rising costs being out of many businesses’ controls, now is the time to ensure your customer experience is flawless from the moment they begin interacting with you. Look for avenues to connect with your customer like providing financing options or suggesting alternate products to ones that aren’t available or out of their price range. Small acts like this can be the difference between a sale and moving onto your competitor.”
How and where consumers are spending
Last year consumers were asked the same question – what would make someone not shop with a retailer during the holiday season. This year, trends show this is more important than ever to pay attention to. U.S. consumers will not shop with a retailer this holiday season if:
- An increase in prices overall (2024 -25%) – 50%
- An increase in cost to return (2024 -11%) – 25%
- Poor experience with a shipping carrier the retailer used (2024 -11%) – 23%
- Poor communication from around delayed shipping (2024 -10%) – 22%
Competing on cost is one of the greatest challenges for a brand/business but there are several tactics to incentivize purchases. If a brand/business isn’t offering a discount at the time of purchase during the holidays, 42% would still feel incentivized to buy if free shipping/returns was offered, along with reward/loyalty points (34%), gift with purchase (28%) and the promise of a discount code for the next order (19%).
Nearly half (47%) of respondents anticipate spending the most on holiday purchases in 2025 with Amazon, other big box retailers like Walmart, Target, etc. (32%), Black Friday/Cyber Monday (25%), and 18% with small businesses. Nearly 1 in 5 (18%) Gen Z anticipate spending the most with TikTok Shop.
Methodology
The research was conducted by Censuswide, among a sample of 2000 US consumers (Aged 18+). The data was collected between 6.03.2025 - 06.09.2025. Censuswide abides by and employs members of the Market Research Society and follows the MRS code of conduct and ESOMAR principles. Censuswide is also a member of the British Polling Council.
About Invoice Home
Founded in 2011, Invoice Home is a comprehensive invoicing platform and invoice template software, simplifying the invoicing needs of small businesses, freelancers, and entrepreneurs worldwide by offering 100 customizable, multi-lingual templates and online payment integrations, all in a unique and user-friendly interface.
Headquartered in Austin, Texas and trusted by 10 million customers in more than 150+ countries and territories, Invoice Home is the leading invoice generator for business professionals.
Media Contact:
Diffusion PR for Invoice Home
media@invoicehome.com