“Retailers expect customers to cast off last year's frugality this holiday season” |
| Retailers expect customers to cast off last year's frugality this holiday season Posted: 22 Oct 2010 02:56 AM PDT At Gino's Jewelers in Warrensville Heights, Ohio, owners Gary Koster and Mike Auletta have filled their glass display cases with platinum engagement rings, diamond-studded tennis bracelets, luxury designer watches and high hopes for a robust holiday. "After Santa spent much of last holiday season doling out bluejeans and small appliances ... the number of people putting jewelry on their wish lists this year is up 13percent from a year ago," to 23percent, said Ellen Davis, vice president of the National Retail Federation. "You can almost hear a collective sigh of relief among retailers that they won't have to spend the entire holiday season promoting $5 coffee makers and $10 Crock-Pots. ... To put it bluntly, if last year was the year to buy your wife a vacuum cleaner, this is the year to buy her a necklace," she said during a conference call. With 65 shopping days until Christmas, the National Retail Federation says consumers are more willing to splurge on pricier gifts that they might not have considered in more-frugal times. Customers are expected to spend an average of $688.87 this holiday season, up 1percent from last year, providing a collective and much-needed shot of $447.1billion into the nation's economy. Moreover, the $518.08 they'll spend on gifts for family, friends, co-workers and others is 2.1 percent higher than it was last year. In central Ohio, one company is looking at its first holiday shopping season with optimism. "We've only been open for eight months, but we've definitely noticed a jump in sales as we entered the fall season," said Paul Leonette, manager of the luxury denim retailer National Jean Co. in the Short North. "I don't think the dollar amount per transaction is up, but the number of transactions is definitely up," he said. "So the conclusion is that there's more people coming in." At Larson's Toys and Games, expectations are for a good but "not gangbusters" holiday season, said owner Greg Larson. "The way the year's trending now, we'll be up about 2 to 5 percent," he said. "But based on the way the economy's been for the past couple years, I'm pretty happy with that." Gary Koster of Gino's Jewelers said he's noticed an uptick in sales of fashion jewelry and pricey watches. "In my personal opinion, I think one of the reasons for the uptick is that people are tired of holding back. They're ready to live their lives again and have a good time. They're saying, 'Let me get something a little nicer.' "Wives are saying: 'If I got a vacuum cleaner or a toaster oven last year, I'd better get something better than that this year.'" Dispatch reporter Tim Feran contributed to this story. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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