Shoppers were on the hunt Friday night as they checked names off their list with Christmas morning quickly approaching -- there was even a Grinch among the crowd looking for last-minute gifts at a packed South Shore Plaza in Braintree, Massachusetts.
“I feel like this last year came by fast,” said shopper Jessica West. “ I’ve not done any of my shopping yet.”
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It’s a critical time for businesses.
The National Retail Federation expects sales to be up about 4 percent over last year.
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“I don’t think it's anything gangbusters,” said Professor Bruce Weinberg, a marketing professor at the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst. “I don’t think it’s anything dismal. I think it’s in the range of OK.”
Weinberg says consumers may say they’re feeling low because of world affairs and inflation, but they’re not showing it…they’re still spending money.
“There’s still a little confusion about that discrepancy between what consumers are feeling and doing, they’re not aligned, they’re not aligned,” he said.
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The Saturday before Christmas is known as Super Saturday, and it’s typically one of the busiest shopping days of the entire year.
