Holiday shopping outlook; Small businesses weigh in on where they’re at

The holiday shopping weekend is upon us with Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday. And local businesses are gear up to take on the big box stores once again.

This year, customers started the shopping season early. Sam Brueggemann a store manager from Trailfitters, says he helped a customer shop for Christmas in late October.

Even though customers started shopping earlier, businesses say it’s been an interesting shopping season. Director of Frost River Sales Marketing, Stephanie Anderson, says, “We are seeing the same amount of traffic but a little bit less in that spend.”

Bruggeman from Trailfitters says, “People are kind of paying attention to what they are buying a little bit more than years past. Especially the last couple years.”

Even though inflation is lower than it was last year the impact on shoppers is still lingering. Making them more weary on how they spend their money.

Now all eyes are on Small Businesses Saturday, Trailfitters and Frost River are confident that Northlanders will turn out to shop, creating their biggest revenue of the year.