A new survey by consultants Deloitte & Touche LLP, in affiliation with the National Retail Federation, says 77% of Angelenos expect to spend as much or more on holiday gift-giving this year as they did in 1999. Nationwide, the figure is an even stronger 80%.

The bullish forecast of yuletide joy for consumers and retailers alike results from several factors, says Richard Giss, a partner in the Consumer Business Practice Group of Deloitte & Touche's LA office. "Consumers nationally and in Southern California have a fairly positive outlook, reflecting a solid economy, a very strong job market, rising housing prices and low inflation," Giss says.

Despite the cheery sales forecast, there are a few dark clouds on the horizon. Though a separate survey of retailers found they expect holiday sales to be up a healthy 4.5% from a year ago; 20% of Angelenos say they'll spend less this year than last--in part because higher gas prices are cutting into their disposable income.

Recommended For You

Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.

Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:

  • Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.