Shoppers don’t necessarily wait until Black Friday to get the best deals for Christmas anymore. In fact, a James Madison University professor said that shoppers start weeks earlier so they can spread out the spending, avoid last-minute buying and prevent added stressors.
Tony Kim, a professor in the Hart School of Hospitality at JMU, said he also expects retails sales to return to pre-COVID levels.
“The retailers expect to have increased sales this year,” he said. “As a matter of fact, it is expected to be higher than pre-pandemic level in terms of number of people who will shop and the total amount of money they will spend.”
Kim said that the National Retail Federation is predicting that major shopping will still happen during Thanksgiving weekend, including Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
In addition, more consumers will use online shopping platforms for their holiday shopping.
The most popular holiday gift? Kim said the NRF predicts that the most popular gift will continue to be the gift card.
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Crystal Graham
