Retail experts: More in-person shopping expected as pandemic fears wane

Leading into Black Friday, The NPD Group Chief Retail Analyst Marshal Cohen says there has been an increase in apparel sales from people getting outfits for events with family and friends.

News 12 Staff

Nov 24, 2022, 3:36 AM

Updated 783 days ago

Share:

Retail experts say Black Friday and Small Business Saturday will look different this year.
Leading into Black Friday, The NPD Group Chief Retail Analyst Marshal Cohen says there has been an increase in apparel sales from people getting outfits for events with family and friends.
Cohen says he expected the increased socialization from the recent holidays where the pandemic stopped people from going out to create more shoppers going in person this weekend and during the holiday weekend.
He says that means Cyber Monday might not be as big as it has been recently.
Cohen also says a lot of spending on big ticket items happened during the pandemic.
"So you're not gonna see big dollars spent on self-gifting and family gifts, as well as gifts for the people on the list you're going to see a little bit of a pullback and how much we're going to be spending," Cohen says
He says people will probably be spending less money on gifts.
Cohen says the survey revealed that only 21% of consumers say they are expecting to buy gifts for themselves.
He tells News 12 the biggest challenge for stores this year is to try to convince people to not only buy for people on their list, but also for themselves.