BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – According to consumer data sites like Axios and Business Vogue, holiday shoppers are “buying up.”
Shop owners say now is the time to prepare for the holiday season, as consumer sentiment has improved dramatically in a short period of time.
It’s still November, but Christmas has arrived early at Kirkwood Mall.
“I think people are looking forward to the holiday season. They’re excited,” Out of Town owner Brooke Reno said.
Out of Town Boutique carries everything a woman needs on the go at a variety of price points. Mr. Leno said this would avoid big shopping dips during inflation, but said he expected luxury sales to increase even more this year on Black Friday.
“Right now, our denim sales are really up, and this is one of the premium items we carry in our stores. Yes, we’ve definitely ordered more premium denim. We’ve ordered more UGGs this year. Our Ugg orders have almost doubled this year,” Leno said.
He said people may be more willing to bring in these big-ticket items to check out because the election is around the corner and they’re more optimistic about the economy.
“Now that the election is over, people aren’t as worried about that. They can move on and think about other things,” Leno said.
The co-owner of Halberstadt next door agrees.
“I think after the election everyone felt a little more energetic, but that’s in the past. So I think it’s beneficial to be able to allocate the money that people spent,” said Halberstadt co-owner Alex Dahl said.
Alex Dahl said that as a retailer specializing in niche products, Black Friday for him depends on the economy. But thanks to its location, there’s no need to stress too much, especially now that 82% of luxury shoppers plan to spend the same or more in 2023, according to research from Saks Luxury Pulse. he said.
“Fortunately, we have a market where if someone wants something, there aren’t a lot of options to get there,” Dahl said.
He said his luxury stores are ready for an influx of new and old luxury shoppers this Black Friday.
Mall management expects to have more than 40,000 shoppers in 2023 and that number to increase this year.
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