Southern California Set for a Record Holiday Shopping Season

Consumers are not holding back this holiday season. A new report from CBRE forecasts that holiday spending will increase 8.4% this year to $800 billion, a new record. Southern California is expected to benefit from the surge in retail sales.

“There is a lot of pent-up demand among shoppers in Southern California, and we are expecting a robust Holiday shopping season,” Jamie Brooks, First VP at CBRE, tells GlobeSt.com. “This region has a lot of popular existing open-air shopping centers that have performed pretty well during much of the pandemic, which has created additional momentum going into the holidays this year.”

Brick-and-mortar sales specifically will grow 8% to a 10-year high. Brooks says that isn’t surprising because people want to resume in-person experiences. “I am not really surprised. People are excited and really looking to connect and re-connect socially with family, friends and co-workers, especially considering that last year we were forced to deal with a second round of shutdowns during the holiday shopping season,” he says. “This is obviously translating into higher foot traffic and increased sales projections for brick-and-mortar stores during the holiday shopping season.”

The increased sales are especially notable considering the bottleneck at the Los Angeles and Long Beach Ports, which led many to expect bare shelves this holiday shopping season. Brooks says those worries are inflated. “Retailers have been building their inventory in preparation for the holiday season, so we are not likely to experience much scarcity in big retail stores,” he explains.

Even more exciting, the rebound of brick-and-mortar sales also portends good news for the future of in-person retail shopping. Guess what? It’s still not dead. “I do believe brick-and-mortar will continue to play an important role,” says Brooks, adding that once again retailers have adapted to new market needs. “The pandemic forced many retailers to embrace technology they otherwise may have not for many years, which has drastically improved the in-store customer experience. Think mobile apps and other technology features like BOBIS and curbside pick-up that have become more popular during the pandemic. All that is helping physical stores now and going forward.”

Before the pandemic, the was also a convergence of retail formats. Brick-and-mortar players had gone online to boost sales, and digital brands opened store fronts to better serve customers. That trend didn’t stop during the pandemic, despite the increase in online shopping and the mandated closure of physical stores. “Digital brands are continuing to expand into brick-and-mortar locations, which is a great sign for the future of physical stores,” Brooks adds.