Will Georgians open their wallets or tighten Christmas spending?
ATLANTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - The holiday shopping season is almost upon us.
The once infamous Black Friday deals now extend for days and sometimes weeks after Thanksgiving.
The models show people are planning to spend more this year – up a few percentage points from last year.
The National Retail Federation forecasts Americans are ready to spend at least 979 billion between now and December.
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“Shopping – I love shopping,” said Georgian Maria Tracy, whose daughter is on her way home from Chicago.
Tracy re the days of midnight madness for doorbuster deals.
“It’s not a good thing to be out in the crowds and people killing each other,” she said. “It’s not worth it.”
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Georgia economist Tom Smith said that while he expects robust spending, most people are still concerned about the state of the economy.
“I know people are concerned about prices, and maybe should be more concerned about prices moving forward,” he said.
He’s talking about President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to implement tariffs from some of the country’s top trade partners.
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The U.S. imports electronics and furniture from China, produce and plastics from Mexico, and aluminum and lumber from Canada.
Analysts predict the average price of a car coming from Canada or Mexico could increase as much as $3,000 with Trump’s 25% tariff.
Smith says you could try to outsmart the market and buy these big ticket items now – but it’s hard to find two-by-fours on sale.
“There’s a bunch of people say yes, we realize that prices are gonna go up, someone tries to outsmart the market. I’m gonna go and buy my car. Now, that increase in demand for those products are going to cause upward pressure on prices,” he said.
The National Retail Federation says it’s nearly impossible to measure the election’s impact on current or future spending. The federation says other factors like the economic impact of hurricanes Helene and Milton could have a greater impact on sales this holiday shopping season.
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