The Great Recession is having an unexpected impact on Christmas tree sales nearly a decade later

pulse

December 6, 2017 3:52 AM

More consumers are choosing to buy fake Christmas trees as the cost of real trees has grown steadily over the past few years.

The Great Recession caused a drop in Christmas tree sales, which meant there was less space available to plant trees that would now be reaching maturity.
This shortage of Christmas trees is leading to an increase in prices.
Christmas tree shortages across the US have already been reported.

The Great Recession is to blame for the growing prices of real Christmas trees, CNN reported Tuesday.

Christmas trees are usually cut down as others are sold, so when sales plummeted during the recession there was less space to plant new trees.

And nearly 10 years on, many trees that would be ready to cut down this year don't exist, leading to a rise in prices and decline in sales, according to CNN.

In 2016, consumers who bought real trees paid 5% to 10% more than in 2015. The trend looks set to hold in 2017.

CNN reports many people are therefore choosing fake trees, often imported from China, or skipping the Christmas tree tradition altogether.

Doug Hundley, a spokesman for the National Christmas Association, told CNN the tight market would continue next year.

"We think it will be over in a couple more years," Hundley said.

Christmas tree shortages have already been reported across the US , especially in smaller selling lots like schools and churches.

Each year the National Christmas Tree Association surveys consumers on their Christmas tree purchases to pull together this sort of data.

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