Here's The Best Time To Buy A Christmas Tree

Website Finder.com cited data from the National Christmas Tree Association showing that 43% of American households are expected to purchase a real tree this holiday season, with the average tree costing around $79.31—around $4 more than in 2023.

2020 marked a critical point in which artificial tree sales surpassed real tree sales for the first time. 

Separately, data from point-of-sale company Square shows that Christmas tree prices typically peak and are most expensive immediately after Black Friday and during the first half of December. Square noted that 50% deals occur in the days leading up to Christmas. 

Square Research Lead Ara Kharazian wrote in a note: "The cheapest time to buy a Christmas tree is right before Christmas. The best time is whichever day maximizes joy in your household."

Over the past decade, Christmas tree supplies have been squeezed by a supplier bust originating back to the Global Financial Crisis, compounded by continued adverse weather conditions in the country's top tree-growing regions.

"The root of the tight supply issue goes back to 2008 when an oversupply led growers to scale back planting," Jill Sidebottom, a National Christmas Tree Association spokesperson, told CBS MoneyWatch.

Sidebottom added that adverse weather conditions, including the 2021 heat dome that destroyed trees across the Pacific Northwest, have exacerbated supply constraints in recent years.

Meanwhile, PNC Bank's annual Christmas Price Index, which calculates the cost of "True Love's" gifts from the classic holiday carol The Twelve Days of Christmas, rose by 5.4% compared to last year.

Data from Bankrate shows persistent inflation and high interest rates are expected to weigh on low/mid-tier consumers this holiday season. According to the financial services company, about one-third of holiday shoppers plan to spend less this year than last year.