Nov 9, 2010

Shoppers getting jump start on holiday buyingBy Kendra YagowWFIE.com

Evansville, IN – It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas across the Tri-State. Many store owners hope if they start marking down items now you’ll get into the buying spirit.

Looking around State Street in Newburgh, you wouldn’t be able to guess that just last week we were putting away our Halloween jack-o-lanterns. But local shopkeepers say consumers are more than ready for the Christmas season.

“Oh yes, all weekend,” said Leanne Hughes of Rivertown Antiques. “We were swamped in here yesterday, and of course that’s what we were hoping for.”

National chains are buying into it. Stores exploded with door buster sales, some offering upwards on 40 percent on popular gift items. It may seem early, but experts say stores are just responding to what shoppers want.

John Rooney, Deloitte Consulting, “The key for retailers is going to be promotion,” said John Rooney of Deloitte Consulting. “Understanding that the consumer is into this new normal mindset.”

Another reason for the trend? being on a tight budget. Shop workers at Hooray Children’s Store say they’re seeing a lot of shoppers buying things slowly over time, and buying things that can be used and reused as the years go on. “A lot of people are looking for lower priced things made out of recycled materials, which we do offer a lot of that here,” said Michelle Sanders. “We carry a lot of retro toys, wooden toys, that could go through several children.”

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