Five Economic Signs You’re Smart to Procrastinate on Holiday Shopping This Year

It is a giant question looming over the entire U.S. economy: How much will shoppers spend during the make-or-break holiday season? 

Early signs—from the number of boxes loaded on railway cars to rising consumer debt—signal a weaker holiday season than the past three, when pent-up demand coming out of the worst of the pandemic sparked shoppers’ spending.