The one-day shopping event of the year has morphed into a week of savings. Thanksgiving has become \u201cGray Thursday,\u201d then there is the penultimate \u201cBlack Friday,\u201d followed by \u201cSmall Business Saturday,\u201d and \u201cCyber Monday.\u201d Although the intention is to initiate the spending spree early, the result may be less spending overall because the consumer expects better savings for a later day.<\/p>\n

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The Black Friday crowds at Macy’s (photo credit: Marketplace)<\/p><\/div>\n

According to the National Retail Federation, spending on Black Friday was approximately 11% less<\/a> than a year earlier. Consumer spending was $50.9 billion over the Thanksgiving weekend, compared to $57.4 billion<\/a> in 2013.<\/p>\n

The competition for retail stores to get consumers in their doors is increasingly difficult as shopping online is both easier to scope out deals, and can be done in one\u2019s pajamas on the couch. With the lower price of gas, expectations were higher for in-store traffic, but this was not the case. According to IBM Digital Analytics, sales grew 8.5% on Cyber Monday, making it the largest online shopping day of the year. Holiday shopping online rose 17% to a record $2.04 billion<\/a> \u2013 shedding light on consumer habits.<\/p>\n

Although sales faltered on Black Friday, the amount consumers plan to spend on gifts has slowly increased the last couple years, showing the \u201cgift-giving\u201d is still alive in the American economy. The American Research group<\/a> quantified a series of consumer habits for the holidays, including the trend for spending more money on gifts for 2014.<\/p>\n

$\"Screen$ As consumers are shifting from in-store spending habits to online, it is evident that shopping overall is down from previous years. This, in part, could be due to shifting consumer priorities for their dispensable income. In an interview with Macy\u2019s CFO<\/a>, Karen Hoguet, she stated, \u201cShoppers are spending more of their disposable dollars on categories we don\u2019t sell, like cars, healthcare, electronics and home improvement.\u201d This seems to show that even though the economy is improving, it doesn\u2019t mean consumers aren\u2019t entirely comfortable with spending their income on nonessential goods.<\/p>\n

There are many other trends to size up the economy during the holidays, including the amount of money consumers are willing to spend<\/a> on Christmas trees. The desire to bring some holiday cheer to one\u2019s home can be used as an economic indicator. For example, spending money on a fake tree tends to be more economical when you can put up the same tree (with the same pre-hung lights) for many years to come. Although the sales of real trees still dominate this market, the trend to buy a fake tree has increased while the sales for real trees is on the decline.<\/p>\n

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A final last thought to wrap up the economics of the holidays\u2013 need help picking out a Christmas gift for a loved one? According to Joel Waldfogel, author of the books, \u201cScroogenomics,\u201d people value gifts about 20% less than<\/a> the price tag number. In his own words, Waldfogel believes, \u201cThe choice to buy presents turns out to destroy a lot of value.\u201d It does sound a bit scrooge-like, but maybe giving a gift card isn\u2019t impersonal after all – it\u2019s just economical.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"