Local Economist Weighs In On Holiday Shopping Trends

The holiday shopping season is underway.  St. Cloud State Economist King Banaian joined me on WJON to discuss what he expects from the season.  He says reports have been mixed in regards to the pressure businesses saw this past weekend.  Banaian indicates the landscape has changed with deals being released earlier in November and the large amount of online shopping that takes place.

A Condensed Shopping Season

Banaian expects this year's shopping to be typical with no reason to expect a lack of spending and no reason to expect not enough spending.  He says this is the shortest time period we can have between Thanksgiving and Christmas, which has condensed the shopping season into less days.  He suggests the National shopping numbers are going to look really good but we'll know more after Cyber Monday.

Shop Local

Last Saturday was Small Business Saturday.  Banaian says it is important to frequent these businesses to help keep the local economy successful.  He says by all accounts it was a good weekend for local businesses.  Banaian stressed that affordability is huge for local shoppers.  He believes they are looking for deals.

Gas Prices

Gas prices in the United State are dropping.  Banaian says the world has kind of slowed down a bit while at the same time OPEC is making more oil available.  He expects cheaper gas going forward but stopped short of thinking we'll have less that $2.00 a gallon gas in the St. Cloud area anytime soon.

If you'd like to listen to my conversation with King Banaian, click below.