Santa is done for the night and is likely already encamped in Miami Beach for the winter.
But that doesn’t mean the Christmas shopping rush is over.
The Short Hills Mall opens early on Friday morning at 9 a.m. In Paramus, Garden State Plaza will welcome customers even earlier, with the mall opening its doors at 8 a.m. and remaining open until 10:30 p.m.
Seventy percent of consumers plan to shop the week immediately after Dec. 25, according to the National Retail Federation, the nation’s largest retail group.
And it’s not just to return stuff they didn’t want. The top reasons for heading out to the stores, said the industry group, include taking advantage of holiday sales and promotions and using those gift cards.
But with a winter snowstorm now bearing down on the state this weekend, the post-Christmas rush might be as fleeting as the holiday.
Despite worries about the economy, the impact of the Trump administration’s tariffs on the price of so many things, as well as a worrisome November jobs report showing the unemployment rate rise to 4.6% — the highest level in four years — this wasn’t a bad year for retailers. According to Mastercard SpendingPulse, retail sales excluding automotive increased 3.9% year-over-year from November 1 through December 21, according to its preliminary analysis of holiday shopping.
“Consumers demonstrated flexibility and confidence this season, shopping early, leveraging promotions, and investing in meaningful experiences and wish-list items,” said Michelle Meyer, chief economist of Mastercard Economics Institute.
Visa in its own annual assessment of U.S. holiday retail activity said preliminary data also showed that overall holiday retail spending increased this season, noting a 4.2% year over year jump across all payment types, including cash and check.
“Whether shoppers were upgrading their tech, refreshing their closets, or stocking up at one‑stop shops, retailers delivered seamless shopping experiences both in stores and online,” said Wayne Best, chief economist at Visa.
These figures, though, were not adjusted for inflation, which translated to a more modest increase for the first seven weeks of the holiday period, making for less than a spectacular season at a time of continued uncertainty among consumers.
The annual inflation rate in the United States was 2.7% for the 12 months ending November, down from slightly from 3.0% reported for September, according to U.S. Labor Department data.
While online retail spending rose 7.8%, driven by early-season promotions and the convenience of not heading out to the mall, Visa said in-store shopping remained strong, noting that 73% of holiday payment volume occurred in physical stores, while 27% was online.
“This season also marked a turning point, with artificial intelligence shaping how people discover products, compare prices, and interact with offers,” Best added.
Indeed, AI-powered shopping assistants have increasingly become a force in online shopping, some of them launched just before the holiday season, including Amazon’s Rufus chatbot, Walmart’s Sparky, and Target’s holiday gift finder.
Which means Santa may no longer need to make a list and check it twice to see who was naughty or nice. AI can now do it for him.