Lower Christmas spending ?

The "Cost of Christmas" survey in England estimates that consumers spending on Christmas will be the lowest in 5 years. This is due to lower consumer confidence, five interest rate hikes and slumping housing market across the pond. The survey could give us some sense of what consumers might do in the U.S given eerily similar scenario playing out in the U.S. However, there are plenty of differences in the U.S. economy versus the U.K. Our job is to watch trends to get a sense of direction.