Holiday shopping season is in full swing already, JMU expert says

HARRISONBURG, Va. — Gone are the days of the holiday shopping season starting on November 1.

Shoppers these days begin weeks earlier so that they can spread out the budget, avoid last-minute buying and prevent added stressors, said Tony Kim, a professor in the Hart School of Hospitality at James Madison University.

Kim said he expects retail sales to rebound to pre-pandemic levels this holiday season.

“The retailers expect to have increased sales this year,” he said. “As a matter of fact, it is expected to be higher than pre-pandemic level in terms of number of people who will shop and the total amount of money they will spend.”

Kim said that the National Retail Federation is predicting that major shopping will happen during Thanksgiving weekend, including Black Friday and Cyber Monday. In addition, more consumers will use online shopping platforms for their holiday shopping.

Kim said the NRF also predicts that the most popular gift will continue to be the gift card.

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Contact: Eric Gorton, gortonej@jmu.edu, (540)908-1760