There’s a strange duality running through this year’s holiday shopping season. On one hand, the energy is unmistakably building — more people say they plan to join the Black Friday–Cyber Monday hunt than last year, and you can feel that familiar mix of excitement, urgency, and “maybe I’ll regret this later” shopping logic simmering again. But the numbers tell a different story: shoppers are participating, yet spending less. Deloitte’s latest survey lands at an interesting crossroads where enthusiasm meets hesitation, and the result feels like a slightly deflated version of a holiday tradition people still love — just… more cautiously.