CHARLESTON — “A robust holiday shopping season” is what the president of the West Virginia Retailers Association is predicting for 2018.
Bridget Lambert cited the four percent increase in October reported for retail sales nationally as one reason for optimism.
“We think consumer confidence has gone up,” she told MetroNews.
For retailers, Lambert said Nov. 1 is now the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season with promotional sales rolled out in stores and online then that ramp up this week starting on Thanksgiving at some locations.
Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday come next.
“We feel that the confidence of consumers will get us through this holiday weekend with them coming out,” Lambert said.
These days, there are holiday shoppers who prefer going to stores, those who order online from home for delivery and people who do a mix of both — like shopping online and picking up items in stores on the same day.
“I believe that over the next few days there is a shopping avenue available to all types of consumers,” Lambert said.
“With a good plan and a little bit of smart shopping, consumers can have a plan that keeps them within their family budgets while getting the best deals.”
This year’s Holiday Outlook from PwC found most people surveyed, 84 percent, planned to spend the same or more money this holiday as they did in 2017.
It could help that an extra weekend falls between Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.
In parts of West Virginia, this holiday season will be the first without past bedrock retailers like Sears, Kmart and Toys R Us following store closures.
“Those were staples in our community for as long as I can remember, personally, and for most people,” Lambert said.
