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An edition of the East Valley Tribune
Thursday, November 26, 2020
Pandemic alters but won’t stop Christmas shopping BY WAYNE SCHUTSKY Staff Writer
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espite the pandemic’s economic fallout, experts expect holiday shopping sales will remain relatively consistent this year compared to 2019. “If it stays �lat or even down by 3 or 4 percent…that for me is an optimistic scenario,” said Hitendra Chaturvedi, professor of supply chain management at Arizona State University’s W. P. Carey School of Business But how and when shoppers purchase
gifts, decorations and other seasonal items is expected to change dramatically. The pandemic likely accelerated the ongoing shift away from brick-and-mortar retail, experts say, and they expect online shopping’s share of sales to jump dramatically this holiday season. “Between e-commerce and retail, you’re going to see a K-shaped curve…this is more like one is going to lose at the expense of the other,” Chaturvedi said. “K-shaped” refers to an economic recovery in which different segments of the economy diverge on different paths, with
some performing better than offers and each trending in opposite directions – like the prongs on a letter K. While one segment, like online sales, is on the upswing, another, brick-and mortar, trends downward, experts explained. Chaturvedi said e-commerce made up 14 to 15 percent of the $740-billion holiday retail market in 2019, but he expects that share to jump to 40 percent this year. But while the distribution of sales may be different, Chaturvedi said he expects overall holiday sales to remain consistent with 2019.
Katherine Cullen, senior director of industry and consumer insights for the National Retail Federation, agreed, citing her organization’s polling of consumers. In 2019, the federation projected sales during the holiday season – Nov. 1 to Dec. 31 – totaled between $727.9 and $730.7 billion, which equates to an average of $1,47.83 per consumer. This year, Cullen said polling shows consumers will still shell out about $1,000 during the holidays.
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Ho Ho No! COVID-19 has Santa’s lap in no-sit zone BY KRISTINE CANNON Staff Writer
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ocially distant photos. No sitting on laps. Waving to a masked-up Saint Nick through a clear, frequently sanitized plexiglass shield. This year’s Santa Claus experience – in malls and private residences, alike – will look different due to COVID-19. But that isn’t stopping Santa Clauses-for-hire from entertaining the kiddos this year. Well, it isn’t stopping most of them. At Tempe-based Santa Claus and Company, a third of owner Mark Brenneman’s group of entertainers that comprise Santas, Mrs. Clauses and elves opted out of performing this year. “They said, ‘Hey, I’m going to sit out this season. I don’t want to work, and I don’t want to take a chance,” Brenneman said, adding that typically he has 30 entertainers on-hand over the holidays. What the performers didn’t want to take a chance with was contracting COVID-19 – and the actors who perform the role of Santa and Mrs. Claus are often in the high-risk category. “The majority of the people who work in this industry as Santas are in the 60, 65-up age range. They’re higher-risk
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Mark Brenneman (center) is the owner of Tempe-based Santa Claus and Company, which saw a 33 percent drop in Santa, Mrs. Claus, and elf entertainers this year due to the pandemic. As someone who has donned the red-velvet Santa Claus suit for nearly 50 years, Brenneman calls this holiday season “totally unusual.” (Courtesy of Mark Brenneman)