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Philadelphia shoppers are more optimistic about the economy and their budgeting, and that optimism is starting to show in Philadelphians’ shopping plans as the holiday shopping season kicks off, according to Deloitte’s 24th Annual Holiday Survey of retail spending and trends.

Fears about the recession are slowly subsiding, with more than half of those surveyed (52 percent) saying they expect the economy will improve in 2010, compared with 27 percent responding favorably last year. Conversely, almost half of consumers (48 percent) hope to spend more or the same on the holidays, an improvement from last year’s 39 percent response.

Despite expectations for economic improvement, consumers continue to reduce their spending on gifts, with the average number of gifts Philadelphians plan to purchase declining to 19.4 from 24.5 last year and 25.1 in 2007. Gift spending is down four percent at $538 compared with $562 in 2008. This, however, is a much higher spend than the national average where consumers across the United States plan to spend $452 on gifts this year compared with $532 in 2008.

Spending on the non-gift items, such as home and holiday furnishings, non-gift clothing, social events outside the home and entertaining at home, which traditionally account for a smaller portion of the holiday budget, is higher. As a result, consumers’ total anticipated holiday spend is at $1,087, a 13 percent increase over last year, but slightly lower than the national average of a 16 percent increase in total holiday spending.

SOURCE Deloitte