With barely a week until Christmas, the Florida Retail Federation (FRF) offered a reminder that holiday shopping season isn’t over.
Relying on data from the National Retail Federation, FRF noted on Wednesday that only 10 percent of Americans have finished their holiday shopping with little more than half--54 percent--of all items on their shopping lists already purchased.
“Due to the large number of people with so much left to buy on their gift lists, it should make for a great finish to this holiday shopping season for retailers and consumers,” said Rick McAllister. “Retailers are responding to the demands of consumers by offering lower prices, which means a greater volume of sales overall, while shoppers win out by being able to purchase more for their dollar.”
McAllister noted while sales are up 3 percent that’s somewhat countered as prices are down almost 3 percent from last year.
“More than anything, perhaps, is that consumers have become conditioned to expect discounts and promotions,” said McAllister. “It’s important that all retailers recognize this changing dynamic and reflect this change in their prices to ensure a profitable finish to the holiday season.”
McAllister pointed to other factors as well including warmer weather hurting winter apparel sales and most Americans not seeing a jump in wages even as gasoline prices have dropped.
While the national average of 3 percent growth over last year is over the target, back in November, McAllister said he expected holiday shopping sales in Florida to be 4.5 percent higher than last year.
When he released that forecast, McAllister insisted the Sunshine State was on the rebound, pointing to higher consumer confidence, lower unemployment rates, more tourism and increased retail sales, including in furniture and home furnishing areas.
“Florida continues to see a strong increase in its economy thanks to record-setting tourism, increased consumer confidence, a surging real estate market, and a seven year low in unemployment, all of which mean big expectations for retailers this holiday season,” said McAllister. “Specifically, increased consumer confidence means increased consumer spending, and confident shoppers like to celebrate the holidays by buying gifts, decorations and food for their family and friends.”
Retail remains one of the most important parts of the Sunshine State’s economy, leading to 2.7 million jobs and adding $155 billion to the state.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
