The holiday shopping trends this year are much like two sides of a coin: On one side are the spenders and on the other side the savers.
San Gabriel Valley business owner Art Solis is on the spending side.
While the pizza store owner does have a shopping budget, “it’s gotten to be more than I expected,” he said.
At the top of his Black Friday shopping list is an Apple iPad. Like many shoppers surveyed this year, he’ll be looking for deals, scouring discounts offered by Best Buy, Target and other big retailers.
On the flip side of the spending coin is Santa Clarita resident Stephanie, who asked not to use her last name for privacy’s sake. She’s watching her budget closely, she says, and likely will be spending less.
Both Southern California shoppers are reflected in two surveys about Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Despite ongoing high inflation and increasing credit card debt, consumers are still expected to spend 13% more this Thanksgiving holiday than last year.
The 2023 Deloitte Black Friday-Cyber Monday Survey predicts holiday spending this week will reach new highs as people stretch their budgets and make the most of deals.
In Southern California, 76% of consumers polled said they’ll shop Thanksgiving week compared with 44% last year, Deloitte said. The spike this year is likely tied to ebbing pandemic concerns.
Shoppers nationwide are expected to spend an average of $567 on Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, the report said. And 84% plan to spend as much, if not more, than they budgeted in September.
Solis, who co-owns the 3.99 Pizza Co. chain, said his spending plan gradually expanded to around $1,000 as he considered all the family and friends he has to buy for. They number about 20.
“Business has been pretty good this past couple months,” he said.
So what are this year’s most sought-after Black Friday/Cyber Monday items?
ConsumerBags lists light-bulb cameras, Black Falcon 4K drones, Thermalux heated vests and the Cosmic Scope…
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