• Home
  • News
    • Politics & Government
    • Business & Economy
    • Crime / Courts
    • Health / Medicine
  • Sports
    • High School Sports
    • Radio Iowa Poll
  • Affiliates
    • Affiliate Support Page
  • Contact Us
    • Reporters

Radio Iowa

Iowa's Radio News Network

You are here: Home / Business / Creighton economist says holiday sales may be slow this year

Creighton economist says holiday sales may be slow this year

October 25, 2011 By Radio Iowa Contributor

Santa’s sleigh may be lighter this holiday season. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss says consumers in Iowa and nationwide are continuing to show signs of hesitation about buying, so merchants are beginning to make plans for another slow December.

“Retailers are very guarded on what’s going to happen,” Goss says. “As a result, they’ve been very cautious in terms of expanding their inventories. They’ve pared them back fairly significantly.” Iowa and the Midwest are in better shape than many other states and regions, Goss says, and growth in holiday sales here ought to be higher than elsewhere, too.

“In my judgment, we’re going to see growth from last year of about 3 to 4%,” Goss says. “At the national level, it’s going to be about half that, 1 to 2%.”

With consumer confidence tanking, he says that projection is a far cry from where it would ordinarily be during a healthier economy.

“While it’s not as good as we’d like to see, a normal expansion would be in the six to seven-percent range but still, it’s much better than what we saw last year,” Goss says.

By Karla James

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Filed Under: Business, News, Top Story

Featured Stories

Governor signs child care expansion into law

Iowa seniors have until July 1 to apply for new property tax break

Smoke from distant fires creates colorful sunrise in Iowa

DOT’s Motor Vehicle Enforcement Division to merge into State Patrol

Iowa’s governor approves liability limits for trucking industry

TwitterFacebook
Tweets by RadioIowa

Iowa AD Gary Barta announces retirement

Iowa to visit Creighton in Gavitt Tipoff Games

Iowa and Indiana collide Thursday at B1G baseball tournament

Former Hawkeye joins Lisa Bluder’s staff at Iowa

Iowa rolls in B1G Tournament opener

More Sports

Archives

Copyright © 2023 ยท Learfield News & Ag, LLC