REPORT: Total Holidays Sales Expected to Be in the Billions

It’s no surprise that 2017 is expected to be one of the biggest years for Christmas shopping and spending on record, raking in totals in the billions.

With the holiday retail machine worked out to a science, a new report by ABC News breaks down some of the statistics of this holiday season. And those who expected it to be a good year for business may be surprised by what experts are saying.

According to the data, holiday sales this year will total between $679 billion and $682 billion. That may seem strange until you imagine your own contribution multiplied by the millions of Americans spending their money this month. American shoppers spend an average of $967.13 on Christmas, and there are a lot of them.

It’s not just the gifts that generate business though as 107.3 million Americans are expected to fly somewhere for Christmas, which is no cheap feat. Delivery charges add up too, as the United States Postal Service expects to deliver at least 15 billion packages, cards, and letters.

Of course, the decor plays a part as well. This year, Americans will buy about 27.4 million real Christmas trees, and 18.6 million fake ones. They’re also projected to pick up about 22 million turkeys for their holiday dinners. Those dinners are pretty loaded — the average American will consume 3,000 calories at the dinner table tomorrow night.

Christmas is ubiquitous in American culture. Surveys conducted this year show that 90 percent of Americans say they celebrate Christmas. About 86 percent say they buy gifts as part of their Christmas celebration, and 32 percent of Americans admit that they see Christmas as more of a “cultural holiday” than a religious one.

While the spending may skyrocket, some things never change. The top toys this year are Barbies and Lego blocks, which is odd in light of all the fad toys, gadgets, and video games available to kids these days.