Insights from UW-Green Bay’s Aniruddha Pangarkar: Brown County Shoppers Adjusting Budgets and Prioritizing Deals This Holiday Gifting Season | Fox 11
BROWN COUNTY (WLUK) — Black Friday and Cyber Monday may be in the books, but plenty of shoppers are still working on wrapping up their gift giving.
Shoppers across the U.S. spent nearly $11 billion online on Black Friday alone — an increase of more than 10% from last year, according to Adobe Analytics.
Still, shoppers have showed signs of being conservative.
“I’m cutting back just a little bit. I’m watching it more than I usually do, just because of the economy,” said Patricia Batten of Green Bay.
A 2024 holiday survey by Deloitte shows as most respondents expected higher prices this season, shoppers are planning to cut back on self-gifting and trade down to more affordable brands and retailers.
“I never buy anything full price. If it’s on sale, it’s in the running,” said Caroline Ramminger of De Pere.
With many prioritizing finding the best deals, shoppers notice they’re still spending more for each item.
“I look for the best deals on Cyber Monday, but you’re right, I spend the same amount, but I’m getting less for it, but I’m still spending the same amount,” said Susan Lindsley from Bradenton, Florida.
If you’re looking to save a few bucks, one option is shopping at locations like J & K Downtown Discounts in De Pere, which had a great showing on Small Business Saturday.
“We have a lot of customers that will shop here first before going to some of those larger stores, and we’ve had customers come in and say, ‘Hey, I just bought this at Target for double the price.’ And so they’ll actually buy the item from here,” said owner Jason Loritz.
With an uptick in holiday shopping, experts say it’s yet another indicator the economy is in good shape.
“Things are better since 2023. There’s a lot of whole new jobs being created. Consumer spending is on the upswing,” said Aniruddha Pangarkar, UW-Green Bay associate professor of marketing.
GRB: Brown County shoppers adjusting budgets and prioritizing deals this holiday gifting season
