The Philly region ranks as one of the best areas for in-person holiday shopping nationwide. Here’s why.

The Philadelphia region is one of the best areas for local holiday shopping in the country, according to a recent report by Bankrate, a consumer financial services company. That’s good news for those getting a head start on their in-person shopping this year.

“Your dollars can go further in Philadelphia compared to other cities in the U.S.,” said Alex Gailey, senior data reporter at Bankrate who conducted the report.

Gailey looked at the 25 largest U.S. metro areas and examined how favorable those regions are to in-person shopping. The factors she examined include sales-tax rates, median income after housing costs, average credit card balances, and the number of retail stores.

The Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington area tied for second place, alongside Boston-Cambridge-Nashua.

The Bankrate report also calculated how far the average amount of money a consumer anticipates spending this holiday season can get them in different areas. This year, shoppers plan to spend on average $875 on gifts and other holiday purchases, according to the National Retail Federation, a retail trade association.

The Philadelphia region offers more affordable prices for goods and services and greater access to retail stores, said Gailey, meaning shoppers can be pickier with their choices.

Residents of the Philadelphia metro area also have more disposable income and less credit card debt to shop for the holidays compared to other metro areas, she said.

The Detroit-Warren-Dearborn region ranked first in the report, with residents there only needing to spend $840.88 to buy the equivalent of $875. The Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue region came in last, with Seattle having the highest sales tax as well as expensive prices.

A lot of holiday shopping is still happening in person this year. Bankrate estimates that 61% of shoppers plan to do some of their purchases in person for the holidays.

Shoppers also plan on spending more money this year. In 2022, shoppers expected to spend $833 on their holiday shopping compared to $875 this year, according to the National Retail Federation. This year, $620 of that total is expected to be spent on gifts and $255 on decorations, candy, or food.

“We should expect holiday sales growth to return to pre-pandemic levels, and we will continue to see consumers spend this holiday season,” Gailey said.

Is it too early to start holiday shopping? No. On average, 43% of shoppers said they would start buying things for the holidays before November, according to the National Retail Federation.

“We’re seeing that consumers have started even earlier this year, even before Halloween,” Gailey said, due in part to the pressures from the macroeconomic environment and continuing a trend seen the past few years.

Shoppers are taking on more credit card debt than they have in a long time, and they’re still feeling the lingering effects of inflation, on top of rising interest rates, she said.

Businesses have adapted to this trend over the years and are offering fewer single days of sales and instead longer sales, she said.

“The perk of that is that consumers really have an ability to get sort of savvy and do research and compare prices, and maybe even take a little bit more time to figure out where the best deals are,” she said.