Residents began lining up outside stores earlier this week to make the most of shopping centers’ sales for several days well known for retail consumption.
From storefronts expecting a Black Friday onslaught of deal-seekers to mom-and-pop store owners gearing up for Small Business Saturday to online shoppers raring to go for Cyber Monday, Santa Clarita is no exception to the anticipated four-day frenzy of consumerism, said Jason Crawford city Planning, Marketing and Economic Development Manager.
Though online sales have taken precedence over in person shopping, according to a national data, Crawford doesn’t see any signs of Santa Clarita residents slowing down their local spending.
“From everything I’m seeing, there’s going to be more retail activity this season,” Crawford said. “We’re going to see increased consumer spending.”
He attributes this to increased consumer confidence, a solid stock market and a decreased unemployment rate.
Locally, Crawford said he expects both chain retail stores in Westfield Valencia and small businesses in Old Town Newhall to keep busy.
“Tons of people will end up going to Westfield to shop and be entertained by Santa,” he said. “That’s a given.”
After the Light Up Main Street Event in Newhall last Friday, Crawford said he saw a renewed excitement for independent stores with lines out the door for multiple shops and eateries.
“It was really a cool feeling,” Crawford said. “From that, we’ll see as lot more activity down there this holiday season.”
Nationally, offers.com cites that consumers will spend more of their money on Cyber Monday at 71 percent, though Black Friday shoppers are not far behind at 69 percent.
Comparatively, 57 percent will shop on Small Business Saturday, 49 percent will shop on Thanksgiving Day and 40 percent still procrastinate and shop on Christmas Eve.
The site also reported Amazon is expected to be the top-selling retailer at 67 percent, with Walmart, Target, Kohl’s and Best Buy behind.
Clothing will be the most sought-after deal at 22 percent of purchases, with laptops, tablets and computers close after at 21 percent. Smart home gadgets, televisions, toys and travel rank next.
On Thanksgiving day, 51 percent of respondents said they would not be shopping, but 30 percent said they would go in-store and 24 percent will go online. Mobile devices will account for 9 percent of shopping and social media will account for 4 percent on Thanksgiving.
This jumps to 44 percent online on Black Friday, 42 percent in-store, 31 percent not shopping, 14 percent on a mobile device and five percent on social media.
On Cyber Monday, 58 percent of respondents expect to shop online.
“With online retailers undercutting brick-and-mortar retailers (and the obvious convenience factor), online shopping is becoming increasingly compelling for shoppers,” offers.com General Manager Howard Schaffer said in a statement. “With the convenience of online shopping, shoppers are able to purchase just about anything they can imagine from the comfort of their own home and score the same deals or even better as they would in-store.”
