Forecast: Holiday spending in Alabama to match last year

MONTGOMERY — Holiday spending in Alabama should be on par with or slightly under last year – $18.5 billion.

While that’s not altogether the best news, it’s an improvement over two years ago, according to the Alabama Retail Association.

Alabamians spent 2.8% more during November and December 2023 than they did during the same period in 2022. For all of 2023, Alabama retail sales grew 3.42%.

For the first eight months of 2024, taxed sales in Alabama declined slightly more than a half percent compared with January to August 2023, based on Alabama Revenue Department abstracts. A 1% reduction in the tax rate on food starting September 2023 accounts for that slight year-over-year decline in sales tax collections. That puts overall sales about level with 2023.

An even growth rate in the traditional holiday spending months would equate to $18.5 billion being spent in our state during those two months.

Alabama Retail Association’s holiday spending prediction covers all taxed sales, including those from remote sellers, during the months of November and December.

The association continues its #ShopAlabama campaign and encourages consumers to shop with local retailers in their communities.

“The stores down the street or around the corner support your community in big and small ways daily,” said Association President Rick Brown. “By shopping with retailers based in your community or our state, you contribute to the health of your local and state economies.”

Consumers tend to buy for loved ones and friends during the holiday season no matter the economic situation. They save for it and they plan for it.

For the past five holiday seasons in Alabama, sales have grown an average of 7% each year. From 2019 to 2023, sales in the final two months of the year grew almost 40%. Throughout that period, consumer spending remained resilient through the pandemic, inflation and political conflicts.

Alabama retailers stocked their shelves and warehouses with holiday goods by late summer or early fall.

Christie Howell, owner of Wrapsody, a gift store with five stores throughout Alabama including Madison, said her stores’ Christmas trees were up and decorated by late September.

“We anticipate a great holiday season,” she said.

David Little, who owns Tucker Pecan Co., hires extra staff during the holiday season.

“We work hard” during the holiday season, he said. “All my employees work to whatever time” is necessary to fulfill orders.

Little suggests getting orders in early to have them shipped from his stores as gifts – by Nov. 1 for Thanksgiving and by Dec. 1 for Christmas.

There are five fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year, which means consumers need to ship sooner than last year.