Expert: Businesses Roll Out Sales Early Due to Potential Fear of Recession

(KNSI)- The holiday shopping season has started already as Amazon, Target, and Walmart are all already rolling out big sales.

Amazon, Target and Walmart are all bragging about big savings in the months before Christmas. Mark Bergen is the chair of Marketing for the Carlson College of business at the University of Minnesota and says companies fear the economy is slowing and they want your money early. “And I think it absolutely is driven by a combination of inflation and potential fears of recession. So, what’s happening is budgets are getting tighter. And this is the make or break season for retail. So, they’re all basically clamoring for a limited budget.”

Bergen says inflation is putting pressure on retailers and shoppers. “The price you’ll pay this year is going to be higher than last year, probably substantially. Even with a discount, costs are going up for retailers and manufacturers.”

He expects inflation to continue to rise in November and December.

Bergen says the advantage to starting sales early is there will be more chances to find deals throughout the holidays. He says shoppers will probably focus on buying more essential items, such as clothing, this holiday season as opposed to luxury items like electronics and jewelry.

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