Sales off to strong start, discounts aren’t

’Tis not yet the season for discounting, as the holidays are off to a strong start for retailers, according to reports.

Shoppers are flush with cash, and they aren’t demanding 50 percent discounts — nor are they finding them yet.

“The promotional activity is relatively restrained so far this season,” said Craig Johnson, president of Customer Growth Partners, which esti- mates that holiday retail sales will rise 5.1 percent to $701 billion.

During the first 20 days of November, consumers spent more than $1 billion on online purchases, generating a new record despite there being one fewer day in this year’s shopping season, according to Adobe Analytics.

While pre-Black Friday sales started earlier this year, “We are not seeing a dramatic downturn in prices,” said Taylor Schreiner, director of Adobe Digital Insights.

Retailers who rarely discount merchandise, including Lululemon and Canada Goose, are performing well, while electronics makers, including Apple and Samsung, are also charging full price, Johnson said.

Young adults are helping to fuel the growth.

Nearly 40 percent of shoppers between the ages of 18 and 24 are on track to spend more this year, according to a National Retail Federation survey.

Spending on gift cards is up this year and expected to reach $29.9 billion, up 8.3 percent from last year, according to the survey.

Hot items expected to fly off the shelves are toys from the “Black Panther” movie, “which are very hard to find,” according to Johnson. Other toys and electronics selling well include: L.O.L. Surprise! Dolls, Fingerlings, Nintendo Switch Xbox and NES Classic, according to Adobe.