Retailers Are Getting Into Holiday Shopping Mode

With Halloween over, retailers are gearing up for the holiday shopping season. The National Retail Federation is predicting consumers nationwide will spend about 952 dollars this year. But LSU Marketing Professor Dan Rice says that could be a little different in Louisiana, given the downturn in the oil industry so many people impacted by flooding this year.

“People that have been severely affected by the flood are going to be worried more about things about getting into their house, getting the necessities than they are about spending on the niceties that they might have around the holidays typically.”

There's also the Presidential election, which has many people concerned about the future of our country. But Rice doesn't anticipate it will affect how much consumers spend for the holidays.

“As upset as people might be and as much as their sentiments might be rattled by what’s going on in the election and the outcome, it typically doesn’t affect sales as much as you would think.”

And Rice says even though Christmas is still nearly two months away, you might find a bargain now.

“A lot of people think you get the best deals right around Black Friday and into the holiday season and that’s not true for a lot of different products, you can actually find better reals year round, if you look hard.”