Early holiday season: Shoppers take a strategic approach to get the best deals

DARTMOUTH — When it’s time for holiday shopping, it’s good to have a strategy. For some shoppers, that means planning ahead amid fears of inflation and a possible recession.

At the Dartmouth Mall, Jaden Botelho was looking for gifts for her nieces and nephews along with other close family members while hanging out with friend Madison O’Donnell.

“I want to get all my holiday shopping done before Cyber Monday, that’s what I keep telling everyone,” Botelho said. “I want to find everything on Black Friday or now because all the Black Friday deals are happening and then whatever is leftover, buy online on Cyber Monday.”

She said she’s not sure it will happen, but that’s her plan, and she did find some gifts at T.J. Maxx.

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O’Donnell was almost done with her shopping. She also has her own strategy.

“You’ve just got to keep going,” she said, adding she's has been finding what she’s looking for on her holiday list. “I mostly go to TJ Maxx and Marshall’s. You can find everything there.”

Dartmouth Mall's holiday shopping expectations

The expectations for this holiday season are in line with predictions, according to Senior Marketing Director Lisa Wolstromer representing the Dartmouth Mall.

“We’re seeing a lot of what is being predicted and that is that we’re expecting — an early holiday season,” she said. “Shoppers are looking to buy early, they want to avoid potential price hikes and any inventory issues, and they want to take advantage of early sales.”

She said the retailers are stocking their products to prepare for the season, there are a lot of offerings of holiday promotions and a lot of Black Friday sales are already being advertised.

“Dartmouth Mall traffic has been steady for the past few months, and we’re seeing an increase in foot traffic and shoppers with bags in hand,” she said. “I think shoppers are looking for deals and they’re looking for the best value, so I think any retailers offering a good value are the ones that will come out on top.”

As for overall sales, she said they are anticipating that sales will grow this holiday season as a lot of experts are predicting, and they are optimistic that a lot of shoppers will come back and be ready to spend for the season. She said many projections indicate that sales will hold steady or slightly increase from last year.

“At Dartmouth, our tenant sales are continuing to grow and our traffic is ahead of last year and our pre-pandemic levels, and with our diverse tenant mix, we offer for everyone so that will remain attractive to our consumers as we navigate the season and the economic backdrop,” she said.

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It’s expected that consumers will be shopping earlier this year to avoid any potential price hikes or inventory problems and there are a lot of sales going on, and while inflation is a factor, she said they think the employment picture remains strong.

She said the mall is well positioned because it has an array of retail with traditional full-price retailers like American Eagle and Macy’s as well as good value retail like Burlington and Old Navy. New businesses include Sports and Things and Work Out World, Sketchers may open in December and the bubble tea and Korean food retailer Yummy Station hopes to open by Black Friday.

While Santa will have made his first appearance at the mall Nov. 19, he will be available for photographs Saturdays through Dec. 24. Reservations on the mall’s website under the Santa banner are recommended. There will also be pet photos for the whole family every Monday through Dec. 19.

This year, the mall will kick off its The More the Merrier program selecting shoppers at random to receive a surprise every Wednesday after Black Friday, Nov. 25, through Christmas week and continuing throughout the holiday season. The mall will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Black Friday.

The mall has also partnered with a charity called Cards for Hospitalized Kids. A card-making station will be set up near Santa so kids and adults can create cards the mall will mail to the charity by Dec. 11 for delivery to children in hospitals nationwide and to Ronald McDonald House Programs.

SouthCoast Marketplace expects strong sales

At SouthCoast Marketplace in Fall River, where they just celebrated their fifth anniversary, shoppers were weaving in and out of the stores looking for deals while continuing to do their regular shopping.

“Our diverse stores, restaurants and services are all expecting to continue their history of strong sales this holiday season,” management said in a statement.  “With the worst of the pandemic behind us, people are excited about being in public places and seeing their friends and neighbors as everyone starts to prepare for the holidays.”

A few of the highlights are the Picture Show Cinema showing this year’s biggest holiday blockbusters, TJ Maxx, Old Navy, Ulta, Petsmart and Five Below offering the latest trends at value, Kappa’s Wine & Spirits and Market Basket along with several restaurants.

Retailers Association of Massachusetts weighs in

The Retailers Association of Massachusetts in a press release posted to its website has forecast a 10 percent increase in local holiday shopping sales this year based on a survey of its members.

The National Retail Federation, in comparison, predicts a 6 to 8 percent increase in holiday sales nationally.

“We are asking Massachusetts’ holiday shoppers to remember that how they invest their dollars makes a big difference in the local economy,” RAM President Jon Hurst said. “We are asking consumers to commit to investing a good portion of their spending budgets right here in our communities.”

Holiday sales for the 2021 season increased 16 percent in Massachusetts and 14 nationally due to pent-up demand from COVID, the association said.

Numbers released Nov. 10 show U.S. inflation was up 7.7 percent over the year in October, down from an 8.2 percent year-over-year increase reported in September, and RAM said retailers are also feeling inflation’s pinch on outlays for inventory, wages, and energy.

“A projected 10 percent sales increase over prior year leaves little margin for error or increased profitability given the 8 percent inflation rate," Hurst said.

RAM is a statewide trade association of 4,000 retailers and restaurants of all types and sizes. The retail sector in Massachusetts employs 600,000 people, or 17% of all jobs.

“The acceleration of online offerings and sales by smaller sellers was essential for survival during the COVID crisis,” Hurst said. “Main Street worked overtime to meet their customers where and how they wanted to be served during the pandemic, and those options remain in place today.”

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Overall online sales nationally during this holiday season are projected to reach 25% of sales. For smaller RAM members, internet sales are expected to make up approximately 5% of their total holiday sales, showing the continued reliance and importance of in-person shopping.

Even with inflation levels at 40-year highs, consumer spending has remained relatively strong for the year to date, he said. RAM members report an average sales increase of 6% for the year to date.

RAM members surveyed ranked inflation, declining profitability due to higher costs versus sales, staffing shortages and inventory shortages or delays as their top four challenges for the season.

The holiday sales season historically represents on average 20% of annual retail sales, with some stores seeing 25 to 30% of their sales during the period. November and December retail sector sales in Massachusetts, excluding restaurants, auto sales and gas, typically total approximately $23.75 billion.

According to the National Retail Federation, national holiday sales are projected to hit approximately $942.6 billion to $960.4 billion in 2022.

Taunton jeweler hope to do right by his customers

In downtown Taunton, jeweler Louis Pacheco has been in business as Pacheco’s Jewelry for a little over 29 years and specializes in custom jewelry design and jewelry manufacturing in addition to retail sales, clock and watch repair.

During the holiday season, Pacheco usually almost doubles the inventory because it’s their busiest time of year. He makes shopping fun.

“What we try to do is bring in different product lines from all over the world,” he said. “We have some product lines from Northern Spain, some from Italy and some from Germany so we try to give everybody a little mix of the world they can get inside the little jewelry store in Taunton.”

On a positive note, he said business has been great and he has no complaints whatsoever, but he’s not sure what this holiday season will bring because from everything he has read and heard, inflation has gone up, and he has experienced it at Pacheco’s.

He said he’s not sure what disposable income their customers are going to have but want to do right by them by providing them with options, whether it’s an expensive gift as it’s been the last two years or something a little bit less expensive.

“We’ve kind of geared our inventory to have a little bit of both for our clients, and as being a jeweler for this long, our main focus is just to make sure our clients have what they want and what they need,” he said.

He said people have been hurting more than normal, and having been in business so long he’s seen good times and tough times, but with time all things pass. He said their local and regional clients have taken care of them through the years and that’s why he feels an obligation to take care of them.

The Christmas business hours are Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays.

Standard-Times staff writer Kathryn Gallerani can be reached at kgallerani@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @kgallreporter. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Standard-Times today.

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Shoppers remain cautious this holiday season