Over the weekend, shoppers crowded area malls, big box stores and local businesses in search of holiday deals.
Saint Louis University Marketing Professor, James Fisher, says because the region is relatively unchallenged by another large retail market, its set up to benefit greatly from a strong holiday shopping season.
“Our isolated situation as a major metro area means that we have drawing power,” Fisher says. “The magnitude of this consumption ritual allows us to draw people into the St. Louis market.”
Numbers compiled for the National Retail Federation show holiday sales are off to a strong start, with estimated national sales of more than $59 billion between Thursday and Sunday.
Online sales for Black Friday alone topped $1 billion nationally for the first time .
Fisher says digital technology is now deeply woven into the fabric of retail sales.
“We’ll see what it spells in terms of the holiday spending,” Fisher says. “But over the long haul I would say the trajectory leads toward more growth and more interesting ways in which to spend your money.”
Fisher says it’s not all about the big box stores.
He says local businesses stand to benefit from the digital revolution by pairing events like this weekend’s Small Business Saturday with aggressive marketing campaigns on social networking sites like Twitter or Facebook.
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