Holiday sales expected to grow by 4.2%

The holiday shopping season kicked into high gear over the Thanksgiving weekend as millions of consumers across the United States spent billions of dollars in stores and online. In the Silver State, the Retail Association of Nevada (RAN) estimates that nearly 1.4 million people took advantage of discounts and promotions during the holiday weekend, spending $400.5 million on gifts, decorations and other items.

The busy four-day weekend is a positive sign for the holiday shopping season. RAN projects Nevada consumer spending during the season will grow by 4.2 percent this year and surpass $4.5 billion for the first time. On the national level, holiday spending is projected to increase by 3.6 percent over last year to reach $655 billion, according to National Retail Federation (NRF) estimates. The holiday shopping season spans November and December, and consumer spending figures exclude auto sales, restaurants and gasoline.

“Thanks to an improving statewide employment picture and rising wages, Nevadans will be able to take advantage of the many holiday discounts and promotions offered by retailers throughout the state,” said Bryan Wachter, senior vice president of RAN.

Nationwide, an estimated 154.4 million consumers shopped during the Thanksgiving weekend, according to NRF survey data. That figure exceeded NRF’s initial projection of 137.4 million. During the weekend, the average American consumer spent $289.19, the NRF said. An estimated 74 percent of weekend spending went toward gifts for others and holiday fare such as decorations and food, while the remaining 26 percent was spent on non-gift items. Average spending was down 3.5 percent from the $299.60 reported last year due to deeper discounts and better bargains available to shoppers both in stores and online, according to the NRF

In Nevada, online shoppers outnumbered in-store shoppers 973,600 to 889,100 as many retailers offered the same doorbuster prices on both their sales floors and websites. Online and mobile shopping was especially attractive to U.S. consumers, who spent an estimated $5.27 billion on Thanksgiving and Black Friday, according to Adobe Digital Insights. That figure was 17.7 percent higher than a year ago and included a record $3.34 billion in spending during Black Friday alone

The strong Thanksgiving weekend online shopping activity continued on Cyber Monday, which the NRF predicted would attract 122 million consumers across the United States. In Nevada, nearly 1.1 million adults were expected to shop online during Cyber Monday, according to RAN. The online spending record set on Black Friday was quickly eclipsed on Cyber Monday, which recorded a new one-day high of $3.39 billion, Adobe Digital Insights said. Overall, total online spending in November reached $39.9 billion, a 7.4 percent increase over a year ago, according to Adobe Digital Insights.

In Nevada, nonstore retail sales, which include online retailers, are trending up by 16.7 percent year-over-year and have surpassed $1 billion in the 12 months through August. Based on these trends, RAN estimates that total nonstore sales in the state could approach $300 million this holiday season, surpassing last year’s total of $236.8 million.