Stores are boasting Halloween decorations already, a reminder that soon we’ll turn our attention to Christmas shopping again.
Hurricane Harvey will surely have an impact on the Christmas shopping season, but it’s too early, says Texas Retailers Federation President George Keleman, to know exactly what that’s going to look like. He expects a jagged graph of Houston’s 2017 holiday gift giving purchases. “Some of it may be out of necessity or need as folks move back into their homes and they need a new TV and new furniture, so we may see some spikes here and there, but I think overall the trend of three to four percent is about right,” he tells KTRH News.
Nationally there is an expectation of 3-4% growth compared to last year, and expectations are that the increase in online shopping will tick up while the number of people standing in store lines will tick down. “The retail industry is not dying, it’s just in transition. You now have a very established online sector, as you do with an established brick and mortar sector,” he says.
Grab the credit cards. Let’s go shopping.