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Holiday Edition
Happy Thanksgiving
SHOPPING ........4
GIVING ......... 10
Thursday, November 28, 2019
Be grateful you’re here for Thanksgiving BY PAUL MARYNIAK Executive Editor
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f you’re celebrating Thanksgiving in Scottsdale, Gilbert, Chandler or Mesa today, you’re in luck. The �inancial advice website WalletHub. com said those four cities are among the top 13 places overall in the country to celebrate the holiday. Scottsdale ranks second behind only St. Paul, Minnesota, followed by Gilbert in sixth place, Chandler 11th and Mesa with lucky number 13. The worst? Be grateful you‘re not in Stockton, California, this weekend, which occupies the bottom of WalletHub’s list of 100 cities across the country. WalletHub generated its rankings by analyzing 20 key metrics, combing a dozen data banks, including the Census Bureau, the U.S. Council for Community and Economic Re-
search, Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Highway Traf�ic Safety Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Texas A&M Transportation Institute, Corporation for National and Community Service, Google Ads, Eventbrite, Active Network, Yelp, Kayak, Numbeo, VolunteerMatch, Charity Navigator, Chronicle of Philanthropy and AccuWeather. “Our data set ranges from cost of Thanksgiving dinner and share of delayed �lights to volunteer opportunities per capita and forecasted precipitation,” the site said. The data is broken into �ive main categories – Thanksgiving celebrations and traditions, affordability, safety and accessibility, “giving thanks” and weather. “Giving thanks” included volunteer opportunities and donated hours per capita, as well as per capita share of income donated and charitable organizations. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for a Thanksgiving
celebration. Then each city’s weighted average across all metrics was calculated for an overall score. A deeper look into those �ive categories of data produced a few puzzling results – particularly when it came to ideal holiday weather. Mesa came in second place for weather while Chandler and Gilbert tied for fourth. Scottsdale placed sixth in the county. For overall affordability among the four Valley cities, Gilbert placed ninth in the nation. It was followed by Scottsdale at 21, Chandler at 22 and Mesa at 65. Affordability was calculated on the basis of the cost of Thanksgiving dinner, the prevalence of affordable restaurants with a star rating of at least 4.5 out of 5 and the lowest price of a three-star hotel. As for holiday traditions, the four Valley cities were unimpressive as far as the data are
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Retailers brace for millions in stores, online BY WAYNE SCHUTSKY Staff Writer
OPINION .....18
EVENTS .......20
CLASSIFIEDS...22
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raving long lines in the name of Black Friday savings is an American Thanksgiving tradition on par with turkey and cranberry sauce – and Scottsdale retailers are counting on that. Approximately 165.3 million consumers are expected to shop over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend from Black Friday to Cyber Monday – up from the 164 million that turned out in 2019, according to the annual forecast from the National Retail Federation, an industry trade association. The NRF found that demographics of Thanksgiving weekend shoppers are expected to skew younger. “Among those ages 18-24, 88 percent say they are likely to shop and particularly enjoy the social aspect. Similarly, 84 percent of those ages 25-34 plan to shop. That compares with 69 percent of holiday shoppers overall,” according to the NRF. A signi�icant portion of the 165 million expected shoppers – 68.7 million – are expected
The Holiday Balloon Glow starts at 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7, at SanTan Village near Macy’s. (ourtesy of SanTan Village)
to take advantage of online deals on Cyber Monday. Still, the majority of overall shoppers – 114.6 million – are expected to turn out on Black Friday and nearly 40 million are considering shopping on Thanksgiving Day, according to the NRF. Shopping malls and retailers throughout
the East Valley are expanding hours and offering signi�icant price cuts to attract those consumers.
Hours vary
Scottsdale Fashion Square is closed Thanks-
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