Shoppers set to spend $1T this holiday season
Sales across nation are starting earlier to keep up with online stores
A record-setting $1 trillion holiday shopping season isn’t waiting for Thanksgiving or Black Friday as stores and shoppers in Central Florida and across America are starting the annual search for perfect gifts even earlier this year.
Instead of the shotgun start to the holiday shopping season that Thanksgiving weekend has given stores in the past, sales in general are starting earlier and doorbuster deals once available only for the most diligent are already being offered both online and in stores.
It means stores big and small are shifting strategies to keep up with the ever-increasing compe-
tition from online outlets.
“The ads were released a week earlier than normal, the pre-Black Friday sales started earlier and Walmart and Amazon are already doing sales that rival what we’ll see on Black Friday,” said Sarah Hollenbeck, a spokeswoman for the dealwatching website Black Friday.com
Experts are predicting smaller crowds on Thanksgiving and Black Friday, but not scant enough to stop stores from opening those days and ringing up strong sales.
Americans are expected to shop a lot, especially with Thanksgiving falling on Nov. 22, the earliest date the fourth Thursday of November holiday can be.
The National Retail Federation predicts total spending for November and December will surpass $1 trillion for the first time and the average family will drop more than $1,000.
The optimistic projections are due to a strong economy, low unemployment and rising wages that are giving consumers the confidence to go out and spend, NRF’s president and CEO Matthew Shay said.
The expert advice: jump online now and compare ads for items on your wish list.
“There will only be a few specific deals that are specific to in-store purchases on Thanksgiving or Black Friday,” Hollenbeck said.
The biggest deals will continue to be on big-ticket electronics such as flatscreen televisions, video game systems and tablets, Hollenbeck said. There also will be a big push this year for connected smart home devices, she said.
“People might have received a smart home device last year and once you pick up one or two then you tend to start connecting everything,” she said.
As for early deals, Best Buy already has a handful of 32-inch televisions selling as low as $89 and Walmart has a 7-inch Samsung tablet for $69.
Best Buy will have a 43-inch Toshiba ultra highdefinition television for $129 doorbuster at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving. Walmart has a Hoverboard for $99, a sales that goes online at 10 p.m. Wednesday.
Maritza Rodriguez of Orlando said she has done much of her shopping online, taking advantage of early sales and avoiding crowds at stores. In fact, Rodriguez finished the last of it for her three children and numerous relatives earlier this month.
“Online I bought the harder things that I couldn’t easily find in stores, but the rest I did in person,” said Rodriguez, 27. “I want to try and actually enjoy the holiday season as much as possible taking advantage of the Christmas events I never get to enjoy in the area … I know I will probably buy extra gifts here and there, though.”
Rodriguez, who works with the Osceola County Sheriff’s Department, said she was also able to save money this year by scouting sales early instead of scrambling at the last minute for gifts.
With the jolly holiday spending estimates, retailers have been stocking up on extra inventory, which will mean big sales through Christmas Day.
“They are spreading out the sales over the entire months of November and December, which is good for stores and good for consumers,” said Steve Kirn, a retired retail professor at the University of Florida.
Florida Soap Co. owner Misty Wheeler-Belin said traffic at her Altamonte Mall store is starting to pick up after the slow summer months.
But she said that online sales have become an increasingly important part of her business.
“I’m doing about five times as much business online and in wholesale as I am at my store,” said Wheeler-Belin. “I think shopping online is so much easier for people.”
Online shopping should continue to grow this year, making up about one in six dollars spent on holiday purchases, according to the
“I’m doing about five times as much business online and in wholesale as I am at my store. I think shopping online is so much easier for people.” — Florida Soap Co. owner Misty Wheeler-Belin, of her Altamonte Mall store
National Retail Federation. Online shopping is expected to grow by about 14 percent.
Rounding out Thanksgiving weekend is Cyber Monday, Nov. 26.
Last year, Cyber Monday, when online outlets often offer their best prices, clocked a one-day record of $6.59 billion in sales, according to Adobe Analytics. Sales are expected to rise another 17 percent on Cyber Monday this year compared with last, the group said.
But even with the growth of Amazon and the push for online sales, brick and mortar stores are still a big part of the holiday shopping season.
“About 91 percent of shoppers are expected to visit brick-and-mortar locations,” said Florida Retail Federation president Scott Shalley.