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Survey: Holiday Spending to Top Last Year

December 13, 2006

By Mackenzie Kolling
The Daily Collegian Online

A survey from an independent research firm estimated a 9 percent increase in national spending this holiday season, and State College-area stores are preparing for the extra shoppers.

The survey, which was conducted by ChangeWave Alliance, included about 3,500 business, technology and medical professionals. Of these participants, 36 percent said they would spend more during the holidays this upcoming year, compared to the 27 percent who said they spent more last year than they plan to this year.

State College businesses said they are ready to accommodate the increased number of holiday spenders.

"We are a student-oriented business, so we are having more products available since Penn State students are in college a week longer prior to Christmas," Bob Steinbach, the owner of Connections, 130 S. Allen St., said.

Since the last day of final exams is Dec. 22, many students may try to squeeze in their last-minute shopping before they go home for the holidays, Courtney Goldberg, manager of Metro, 320 E. College Ave., said.

"Students' parents come to pick them up, and they go shopping," Goldberg said.

According to the survey, electronics are the hottest gift this season, with about 52 percent of survey participants saying that they will spend more on gifts such as digital cameras, iPods, laptops and high definition TVs.

The same national desire for electronics is apparent in State College, some store managers said, and some of the hottest items of the season are in short supply.

Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii have been two items high in demand, said both Brad Swanson, store manager of Target, 315 Lowes Blvd. and Matt Miller, store manager of Best Buy, 1650 N. Atherton St.

Other popular items include flat-panel monitors, TVs and computers, Miller added.

Managers added that tactics to efficiently meet their customers' needs will make up for the extra hustle and bustle throughout the stores.

The Saturday before Christmas may be Target's second busiest day of the year, Swanson said. To cope with the influx, store organization during this hectic time of year will be key, he said.

Miller said customer convenience is important.

"We try to look at customer flow in the store and look at ways that we can make the check-out process more convenient for the shopper," Miller said.

If Black Friday's shopping turnout was any indication, stores said they are prepared to rise to the occasion.

"For our department, [Black Friday] was a record-setting day," said Mike Kleinhans, entertainment manager at Circuit City, 48 Colonnade Way. "We showed major growth this year compared to last year."

Nationally, the Black Friday weekend brought out the money-spending side of people, as some 140 million swiped their credit cards, each spending an average of $360.15, according to the National Retail Federation's 2006 Black Friday Weekend Survey. That number is up 18.9 percent from last year's $302.81.

Men outspent women $420.37 to $304.30, according to the study. The most popular category of purchases was consumer electronics, with nearly 40 percent of men and more than 27 percent of women buying some sort of device.

Collegian Staff Writer Brad Pareso contributed to this report.