KSHB 41 News reporter Braden Bates covers parts of Jackson County, Missouri, including Lee's Summit. Send Braden a story idea by e-mail.
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Are you following your holiday habits or breaking them for a new tradition? Experts said some people are departing from the norm.
As prices are up and wallets may be wearing thin, Kansas City-area consumers are reevaluating how they shop for holiday gifts.
Tamica Lige was shopping at a Northland Target. She said she's sticking to the tried-and-true system that she budgets for every year.
"It looks like I have a lot of stuff in my cart, but I think that we kind of overshop sometimes," Lige said. "I like to do like a want, a need and something they can use to learn."
That's how she prioritizes her shopping.
Tony Tocco, the chair of the accounting, economics and finance department at Rockhurst University, said others are finding alternative ways to shop.
"What families are doing now through inflation, they have less money, they said, look, instead of buying my kids two or three gifts, I’m going to buy them one good gift. Same amount of money. Now they’re saying I’m going to give them one good quality gift instead of three different gifts," Tocco said.
He said it's up to the consumer, with the jury still out on whether people will officially make this a record year for shopping or if it will fall short.
That data should come out in 2026.
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