Scenes of anxious consumers camped outside department stores over Thanksgiving weekend have been few and far between this year as the American economy continues to struggle due to a host of negative economic phenomena exacerbated by the Biden administration.
According to several eyewitnesses and local reporters, stores which promoted and opened for Black Friday, which is typically the busiest retail day for American retailers, hosted only small groups which waited outside for store openings, Breitbart reported.
A recent CBS/YouGov poll indicated drastically reduced consumer confidence statistics, due in large part to increased consumer prices and other troubling economic statistics: 78 percent of Americans planned to cut back on holiday shopping, while another 80 percent planned to delay purchasing big-ticket items.
“Shoppers are expected to pay on average of between 5% to 17% more for toys, clothing, appliances, TVs and other purchases on Black Friday this year compared with last year,” a source told the Associated Press. “TVs will see the highest price hike on average, up 17% from a year ago…[t]hat’s because whatever discounts available will be applied to goods that are already expensive.”
The poll also found 11.5 percent of consumers do not have plans to purchase “presents, gift cards or other items for entertaining” during the holiday season, as reported by CNBC, which cited a Deloitte poll. The statistic was the highest percentage recorded since Deloitte began documenting this economic statistic.
Compared to 2019 – the most recent pre-coronavirus Black Friday – consumer shopping dropped 28 percent from that year, as consumers cited ongoing concerns over the U.S. economic outlook, including inflation and supply chain mismanagement, as well as renewed concerns over a re-emergence of the coronavirus.
Recent economic data released by the U.S. Labor Department estimated between five to 17 percent increases in popular consumer items, including toys, televisions, clothing, computers, and other electronics.
Decreased consumer activity and higher prices was not the only negative economic statistic reported over the weekend, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted on Black Friday and into the Thanksgiving weekend fueled by concerns over a new coronavirus strain from South Africa.
