Sherry Hartley said the Christmas shopping season has been on her mind for a long time.
At Alabama Goods in Stadium Trace Village, the pottery, soaps, jewelry and other products that are ready to be Hoover residents’ Christmas gifts have been months in the making.
“We start our process of Christmas preparation by ordering the things that are the most time-consuming to fill — things that are made by hand by our local artists and crafters all over the state,” said Hartley, who co-owns the store with Beth Staula.
They started working on corporate orders in September and will continue to ramp up with those through the holidays.
“Fourth quarter for us is when we go from the red to the black, so it’s crucial for us,” Hartley said, noting they have been preparing for this year to be as good for holiday shopping as 2023.
She said she hopes that after election day in November, shoppers “will be more comfortable spending their money.”
Carol Jones, an associate professor of marketing at the University of Alabama, said Hartley is not the only one thinking about the Christmas shopping season in terms of the upcoming presidential election.
“The presidential election could impact spending. There was a dip in spending before and after the 2020 election,” said Jones, who researches retailing and retail strategy. She said she expects there could be some effects surrounding the election this year, too.
“Depending upon the election results and Americans’ response to it, we could see some fluctuations with the economy that impact Christmas spending,” Jones said.
In general, people are more concerned about money right now, she said, explaining that the majority of Americans — about 77% — have a negative or neutral outlook about the economy.
“This is going to impact the average person’s shopping experience. Shopping is less fun when you’re more concerned about money, the economy, politics, etc.,” Jones said.
But she said on the flip side, “with it being a difficult year for many, people may use retail therapy as a pick-me-up to end the year.”
Holiday shopping can somewhat be predicted by back-to-school and back-to-college shopping, Jones said. Last year was a big year for retail spending, but so far, 2023 isn’t trending that direction, she said.
“This year, we spent less than we did in 2023 going back to school, so the growth might be smaller this year than it was last year,” she said. “We will still see more spending than we saw in 2021 and 2022, but there’s a chance spending grows less than it did for 2023 Christmas, and there’s a good chance we actually spend less than we did in 2023.”
Even so, she said some outlets are still predicting a record year for spending, as holiday spending has generally been increasing the past few years.
“I’ve heard a lot more people express financial concerns, so I have my doubts it will be a record-breaking year, but we know consumers are unpredictable, so I’m not saying it’s impossible,” Jones said.
Benjamin Meadows, an assistant professor of economics in the Collat School of Business at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, said the “current forecasts are mixed — with inflation settling down, it could lead to buyers’ confidence being boosted.”
“On the other hand, if large numbers of consumers have not received cost-of-living adjustments, then the ‘bite’ of inflation remains, leading to less discretionary spending … and therefore retail shopping,” Meadows said.
He said in all likelihood, this year could be on par with last year.
“With the Federal Reserve’s recent cuts, we should see some positive economic indicators. This could lead to stronger sales numbers, but that remains to be seen,” Meadows said. “
Hopefully the buying experience will be the exact same as last year, meaning inflation has finally cooled down, and prices are similar year over year.”
Nan Baldwin, president and CEO of the Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce, said she believes holiday shopping in Hoover’s retail establishments “will see an increase in sales this year, just like several national consultants are predicting.”
“Hoover offers a wide range of unique and distinguished shopping alternatives,” Baldwin said. “Shoppers can satisfy their Christmas wish list with big-ticket items, like purchasing an automobile or home appliance, to small one-of-a-kind specialty gifts from one of our many locally owned boutiques.”
Also, people want to “experience the joy of the holiday season by being in a festive atmosphere that you can’t get when shopping online,” she said. “Our diverse selection of culinary cuisines and restaurants are another treat for holiday shoppers.”
Jones said another factor that may affect shopping this year is the calendar itself. With Thanksgiving falling on Nov. 28, the shopping window between Thanksgiving and Christmas will be shorter than other years.
“People will be shopping earlier to have more time to try and find those good deals,” Jones said.
But shoppers may be feeling more stressed about having less time, so “retailers are going to have to make shopping fun to get consumers into the holiday spirit,” Jones said.
One way Stacey Sparks is doing that at Apricot Lane Boutique in Chace Lake is to hold a “Pink Friday” sale, a sale geared toward encouraging local shopping on the Friday before Thanksgiving.
“We want people to come in the week before with their friends and family — there will be great things there to purchase for gifts,” said Sparks, who owns and operates the store.
At Apricot Lane, they offer a wide range of clothing — “mom and daughter kind of shopping,” she said, “all the way from early 20s to 60s and 70s. There’s a good variety of clothing for everyone — jeans, sweaters, tops, dresses, earrings, jewelry. We have unique offerings you won’t find anywhere else.”
Dear Prudence in Patton Creek will be moving to the Village at Knox Square in the new year. To keep shoppers engaged with the location changes and sales, owner Prudence Kauffman uses Instagram to create brand awareness for their fall and winter clothing. In her “Pru’s Picks” videos, she demonstrates outfit pairings from the store.
“We got in some of the most amazing things, ” Kauffman said in a Pru’s Picks video. “This is probably one of the most amazing collections we’ve got in so far. It’s so full of life and color.”
Alabama Goods has a wide variety of handcrafted items and foods, which offers “a different shopping and gift-giving experience,” Hartley said. “The feedback we get from our customers is that they feel good shopping with us. They get something unique they can’t get anywhere else, so they feel like they found something special.”
That, plus the fact that they are supporting Alabama crafters and artists, makes each gift a “feel-good purchase,” Hartley said.
She’s hoping this Christmas shopping season will continue to be a good one for Alabama Goods. They also will be open Thursday, Nov. 7, from 6 to 8 p.m. as part of Stadium Trace Village’s holiday open house.
– Savannah Schmidt contributed to this story.