Christmas Tree Purchases By The Numbers

According to data from Nielsen Research, approximately 21.6 million real trees and 12.9 million artificial trees will be purchased by U.S. households this Christmas season.

Nielsen surveyed nearly 30,000 U.S. households on behalf of the American Christmas Tree Association (ACTA), also found that the average cost of a real tree was $46 and the average cost of an artificial tree was $78.

NIELSEN’S SURVEY ALSO SHOWED THAT THE USE OF ARTIFICIAL TREES IS ON THE RISE IN THE UNITED STATES.

In addition, households will spend a total of $984 million purchasing real Christmas trees, but will spend an even more staggering $1.01 billion purchasing artificial Christmas trees this season. The survey also found 11 percent of U.S. households will display both real and artificial trees, indicating a growing trend toward celebrating Christmas with more than one Christmas tree.

“We are pleased to partner with Nielsen Research to provide what we believe is the most comprehensive study of household spending on Christmas trees,” said Jami Warner, Executive Director of ACTA.

OTHER HOLIDAY SEASON FINDINGS FROM NIELSEN’S SURVEY INCLUDED THE FOLLOWING PURCHASING INFORMATION:

Purchase location and average cost of real trees:

  • Twenty-nine percent of households surveyed purchased their real tree at a tree lot for an average cost of $48 per tree

  • Twenty-four percent purchased their tree at a tree farm for an average price of $46

  • Sixteen percent were purchased at a home improvement/DIY store for an average price of $44

  • Seven percent were purchased at a Garden Center for an average price of $53

  • Seven percent said they were not sure where the tree was purchased

  • The remaining 17 percent of trees were purchased at various other locations

Purchase location and average cost of artificial trees:

  • Thirty-nine percent of households purchased their artificial tree at large outlets such as Wal-Mart, Target, or Kroger, for an average price of $65

  • Ten percent were purchased at a home improvement/DIY store for an average price of $100

  • Five percent were purchased at a department store for an average price of $103

  • Five percent were purchased at a craft/hobby store for an average price of $106

  • Three percent were purchased at a Christmas specialty store for an average price of $176

  • Nineteen percent said they weren’t sure where they purchased their tree

  • Nineteen percent were purchased at various other locations

Purchase data provided in this release are © 2011 The Nielsen Company (US), LLC.

About Nielsen: Nielsen Holdings N.V. (NYSE: NLSN) is a global information and measurement company with leading market positions in marketing and consumer information, television and other media measurement, online intelligence, mobile measurement, trade shows and related properties. Nielsen has a presence in approximately 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA and Diemen, the Netherlands. For more information, visit www.nielsen.com.