Consumers seem to remain budget conscious amid the ongoing “vibecession.”

Sales in December were not enough to save marketers from an underwhelming holiday shopping season, as consumers remain budget conscious in the last month of 2024, according to a new analysis by purchase data platform Attain.

Consumer spending decreased in December 2024 compared to December 2023 across a number of categories, including apparel, furniture, groceries and big box stores. There were modest gains in year-over-year spending on restaurants and electronics, meanwhile. The only category with a significant jump in spending was travel, which jumped nearly 7 percent from the year prior.

These modest gains are unlikely to impress marketers after a slow start to holiday shopping in November. Consumers reported planning to spend less on holiday goods this year in the weeks leading up to Black Friday, the unofficial start to the holiday shopping season, according to an earlier report from Attain, and that appears to have come to fruition.

Overall, Amazon Prime members spent slightly less on Cyber Monday in 2024 versus 2024. Walmart and Target had modest sales gains of 9 percent and 1.5 percent respectively.

Amazon Prime members increased their Cyber Monday spending in several consumer categories, according to the study, but the gains were not enough to offset an overall reduction in Cyber Monday activity on the ecommerce site.

This was after a ho-hum Black Friday, when consumers increased their spending only slightly from the year before.

There’s also evidence that consumers are still wary of inflation and holding off on big purchases. For electronics purchases over $200, the average purchase frequency declined in October and November of this year from the same months in 2023. The average transaction increased minimally, likely an effect of higher prices due to inflation over the yearlong period.

Collectively, the data appears to show that holiday shopping was largely flat from the year before, which isn’t catastrophic. But for marketers who want growth, it’s slightly disappointing and yet another signal that so-called “vibecession,” in which consumers are wary of the economy despite a number of positive economic indicators, continues.