US Retailers, Consumers Brace for Unusual Holiday Shopping Season

Now that the turkey has been gobbled up and the apple pie has been devoured, it is the official start of the holiday shopping season. But in today’s inflationary environment, retailers are bracing for cost-conscious shoppers, and cash-strapped customers are on the hunt for deals. Will this be the most unusual time of the year?
During the Thanksgiving weekend, an estimated 166.3 million consumers are planning to shop from Thanksgiving Day to Cyber Monday, up by nearly eight million people from a year ago, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF).
The group’s annual survey found that more than two-thirds (69 percent) of holiday shoppers plan to shop during the Thanksgiving weekend, with more than half (59 percent) saying that the deals are too good to pass up. A little more than one-quarter (27 percent) note that it is a tradition, while a fifth report that it is something to do during this period….