Nearly Half of Americans Plan to Make a Substantial Purchase This Year

Younger millennials (18-26) are the age group who indicate the highest likelihood of making at least one of these purchases in 2017 (68%), including 28% who are very likely to buy a desktop, laptop or tablet computer.

Gen Xers are not far behind, though; 62% of those ages 37-52 are also very likely to purchase at least one of these items this year. More than one-third (34%) of Gen Xers are very likely to purchase an airline ticket and 27% are very likely to purchase furniture.

Overall, full-time workers, high earners ($75K+ per year), college graduates and Democrats are the most likely to indicate a high probability of buying at least one of the items before year's end.

However, the lowest income households (under $30K per year) are almost twice as likely to indicate a somewhat or high probability of purchasing a television this year than peak earners (31% vs. 16%). Similarly, those making less than $50K per year are more likely to be somewhat or very inclined to purchase a desktop, laptop or tablet computer than those who make more than that (34% vs. 25%). The same holds true for a home appliance such as a washing machine, dryer, dishwasher or refrigerator (30% vs. 20%).

So, what do the highest earners plan to splurge on at some point this year? Airfare. Sixty-five percent of those earning $75K+ per year indicate they're somewhat or very likely to purchase an airline ticket, compared to 31% of those making less than $30K annually.

The survey was conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International. PSRAI obtained telephone interviews with a nationally representative sample of 1,003 adults living in the continental United States. Interviews were conducted by landline (502) and cell phone (501, including 327 without a landline phone) in English and Spanish by Princeton Data Source from August 17-20, 2017. Statistical results are weighted to correct known demographic discrepancies. The margin of sampling error for the complete set of weighted data is plus or minus 4.0 percentage points.

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