The holiday shopping season is under way. Amanda Nicholson, PhD, professor of retail practice at the Martin J. Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University explains how this season is shaping up.

Online Shopping

“Cyber Monday is more hype than substance with many retailers already offering discounts and free shipping,” said Dr. Nicholson. “We expect people to make online purchases earlier this year to avoid the shipping delays that occurred last holiday shopping season.”

Black Friday “Creep”

“Shopping on Thanksgiving Day is probably here to stay for the foreseeable future but retailers will be challenged to demonstrate the ROI for opening on the holiday,” said Dr. Nicholson. “What’s more, consumers are still not so sure shopping on Thanksgiving is the best idea. Some retailers agree as we’re seeing with Costco, for example, which is staying true to its values.”

Sales Outlook

“It’s been a lackluster year for retailers so far this year so there’s a lot riding on this holiday shopping season,” said Dr. Nicholson. “Retailers are doing all they can to get people in the spending mode sooner. Analysts expect a 4- to 4.5% increase in spending over last year so the race is on to see who will get the money first.”

“There are 26 days between Thanksgiving and Christmas, one more than last year but five fewer than in 2012,” said Dr. Nicholson. “Retailers are gearing up, hiring more seasonal workers. And with gas prices on the decline, there’s hope that consumers will turn that savings into sales.”