McClure: Last year, at this time, we had just had a Federal government shut-down that affected consumer confidence and spending trended downwards. This year, consumers are feeling better—confidence reports are trending upwards. With gas prices down, people are feeling like their money is being freed up and more vigor towards holiday buying season is being shown. We just concluded an early November election so the consumer is also feeling the certainty of what resulted in the elections.

Also, what last year showed us is that the trend toward gauging holiday sales on the “Black Friday” shopping day is not what will be the norm in the future. Cyber Monday became a bigger indicator than in past years. The Omnichannel retailing has blurred some lines that had always been the traditional barometer. Early indicators in 2014 have shown that people started their holiday buying earlier this year. In sum, the retailers are banking on a stronger holiday selling season by shipping in more goods to stock the shelves for the enthusiastic shoppers.

GlobeSt.com: Where do you see this sector in Q4?

McClure: The second half of 2014 has shown an increased velocity in deal making with retailers. Most parts of the country are seeing this same trend and Tucson is reflective of the leasing activity. There are many retailers and restaurants still actively trying to strike deals before year's end and if the volume of deals get done, Tucson should see some positive absorption of its vacant spaces! Most retail real estate agents are “heads-down” and busy finalizing negotiations to bring those deals to completion.