Local Holiday Shopping Saw A Slight Boost This Season

The Christmas shopping season is done for another year and nationally it was a pretty good year.  That according to St. Cloud State Economist King Banaian, who joined me on WJON.  He says it will be a few months before we have good numbers on local retail results but we do know some things.  Banaian indicates even with a compressed season the National Retailers Foundation says there were a trillion dollars worth of sales in December.

Local Retail

Banaian believes in regional centers like St. Cloud, Mankato or Duluth there is an increasing amount of shopping that is happening online.  He estimates that 15% of retail sales are happening online compared to 10 years ago when that was more like 5-10%.  Banaian says there is an estimated 1% increase in sales based on sales volume locally this holiday shopping season.  He says this isn't a good sign for local retailers but the trend is slow moving and won't dramatically affect local business.

Typical Closings in January

January is typically the month where we see businesses announce closings.  Banaian says this isn't a sign of a negative economy but rather a normal type of happening after the holiday season.  He says many retailers see their leases expire the first of year and/or choose to close their doors right after a busy season with January becoming less busy in the retail world.

Gas Prices

Gas prices nationally have dropped consistently for the last 6 weeks.  Banaian doesn't expect those price drops much longer and he wouldn't be surprised to see prices start to go back up.  He doesn't believe the activity the U.S. Government is involved with in regards to Venezuela will immediately affect gas prices locally.  Banaian says China bought more oil from Venezuela than the United States did.  He says China may look elsewhere for oil which could impact the supply and demand worldwide which could send prices up.

If you'd like to listen to my conversation with King Banaian, click below.