It is getting late into November, Christmas music is already playing in stores and your neighbors have already began putting up their decorations. This brings many people in a state of denial, that it couldn’t possibly be the holiday season already. Along with this denial, comes the fact of the huge thought of holiday spending.
According to the Boston Globe article “Holiday Spending Surge Unlikely” by Erin Ailworth: “An overwhelming number of Massachusetts consumers plan to spend no more, and in many cases less, than they did last holiday season” (Ailworth). As this states, people are going to be watching their wallet and will not be spending extravagantly. This is mainly due to the instability of the economy and the feeling like money is something to worry about constantly.
I will be a part of this majority and many of friends as well, considering we have all decided not to get gifts for each other in the effort to hold on to our money. This is certainly not in the holiday spirit, but during these times, everyone wants to hold onto their pennies when possible.
In response to the lack of buying on the consumer’s side, retailers have been attempting to increase the percentage of buying customers. This is for the specific reason that many retailers rely on the holiday season to make up for lost money throughout the year (Ailworth). Ways that retailers go about this is deals such as those that occur on Black Friday and other instances in which stores have sales or open early/close late.
In past years, I have attended Black Friday sales and have gotten many friends and family respective gifts. This year I am only getting gifts for those closest to me, which is basically only four people. While I love the holiday season and giving gifts, in this time saving money is of the utmost importance. However, it should be stated that while this will be a tight Christmas, that just because our wallets are being watched, does not mean that we cannot have an enjoyable holiday.
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