Nearly half of Americans say they’re finding it tougher than usual to cover holiday gifts this season, tapping savings and chasing deals amid stubborn price hikes, according to a new AP-NORC poll that highlights ongoing economic strain.
The survey, conducted December 4-8 among 1,146 adults, shows 68% describing the national economy as “poor” — holding steady from December 2024, just before Trump returned to the White House. Inflation has cooled from its 2022 peak but lingers at 3%, exceeding the Federal Reserve’s 2% goal, with a sluggish job market adding to the gloom.
The results echo a similar AP-NORC poll from December 2022 during Joe Biden’s term, when inflation topped 7%. Trump’s tariffs have fueled fresh worries about price stability, even as he insists the economy is thriving and denies any inflation exists.
“When will people understand what is happening? When will Polls reflect the Greatness of America at this point in time, and how bad it was just one year ago?” Trump posted on December 11 on Truth Social.
High costs are hitting everyday items hard: 87% of respondents have seen elevated grocery prices lately, two-thirds report higher electricity and gift expenses, and half note pricier gas.
Shopping behaviors reflect the squeeze.
Roughly half of the poll respondents are hunting bargains more intensely than in past years, while about 4 in 10 are scaling back on nonessentials or delaying major buys. Four in 10 say they’re drawing down savings at higher rates.
Democrats are more prone to these adjustments, but the pinch crosses party lines — around 4 in 10 Republicans report bargain-hunting or trimming spending beyond their norm.
Looking ahead, optimism is scarce.
Four in 10 foresee a weaker economy in 2026, 3 in 10 expect little change, and just 2 in 10 predict gains — a drop from last year’s 4 in 10 who anticipated improvement in 2025. Republicans hold more hope than others.
Trump, who campaigned on slashing costs, maintains that tariffs, tax reductions, and investment outreach will yield gains next year.
In Pennsylvania on December 9, Trump said, “I have no higher priority than making America affordable again … They caused the high prices, and we’re bringing them down.”
The poll, drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel to mirror the U.S. population, carries a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
