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Holiday Sales Expected To Be Up In Riverside

RIVERSIDE – Riverside County retailers expect a slightly better holiday season than last year, even though the Inland Empire’s unemployment rate is pushing 14 percent, it was reported today.

Some national chain stores have shown slight increases in sales in September and October, compared to last year’s depressed figures, which owe largely to the financial crisis that triggered the recession.

“With the holiday season you’re counting on the people who are employed to spend,” Chapman University economist Esmael Adibi told The Press- Enterprise. “They probably feel a little better than a year ago about their jobs, or they might have a feeling of ‘I survived,’ and relax a little in their spending.”

Adibi predicted a 1 percent rise in sales for the Inland Empire and perhaps a 2 percent rise for Southern California as a whole. People will be bargain shopping, he said.

“People will be downsizing when they spend; if they usually shopped at Nordstrom maybe they’ll switch to Macy’s,” Adibi said. “If they usually shopped at Macy’s maybe they’ll switch to Target.”

The business consulting firm Deloitte and other organizations predicted that individual spending will drop, with the average person buying 18 gifts this year, down from 21 last year, and spending a total of $452 on presents, down from $532, the P-E reported.

Brent Schoenbaum of Deloitte said the panic of a year ago has subsided, and confidence readings are generally better. But shoppers are still dealing with tight family budgets and job insecurity.

Instead of offering a few “doorbuster” deals, many stores will likely put their entire inventories up for steep discounts when the holiday shopping season hits the home stretch around Thanksgiving.

“You’re going to see cut-throat discounting, and aggressive promotions, advertising and marketing campaigns,” he told The P-E.

Gift cards, according to Deloitte, are expected to be the best-selling holiday for a sixth year in a row.

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