St. Louis Fed economist paints rosy picture ahead of holiday shopping season – Missourinet

Holiday spending is expected to rise 7% this holiday season, according to financial consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. That seems to match up with what economist Fernando Martin with the Federal Reserve Bank in St. Louis expects. He told Missourinet that the U.S. economy is in good shape, and that it will be a good year for holiday shopping.

“From the sources I’ve read, they expect a good year,” Martin said. “Not a record year. Not something like maybe we’ve seen in the recent past, but more aligned with historical, you know, performance of holiday shopping. So, it’s more of a return to normal.”

Additionally, the National Retail Federation expects consumer spending to reach a record high – $902 per person for gifts, food, decorations, and other seasonal items. Martin said that despite the cost of things being higher, Americans don’t seem to have a problem paying for them.

“Much of the pain of inflation, it’s already been born, right? So, prices did increase,” he said. “They’re not going to come down, for the most part, but, you know, they already went up.”

He said that amid inflation, consumer spending has remained high, adding that it likely will not slow down anytime soon.

“As inflation goes back to normal, as, you know, fiscal policies go back to normal, you know, holiday shopping is going to be a good time for retailers, but it’s going to be kind of a normal year by historical standards, I would say,” he explained.

To help shoppers spread out their budget, retailers have implemented discounts earlier in the month.

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