KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Stores are always preparing for the next season, but this year, it looks like shoppers are, too.
According to the National Retail Federation, Americans will spend $42 more on average this year for winter holiday spending's. The NRF also said people celebrating winter holidays will spend $875 on average on gifts, decorations, food and more.
It’s why stores like Charlie Hustle in Kansas City have been ready for months.
“The season to shop seems to start earlier and earlier each year, so we anticipate it, we stock up, we make sure we have the product, the fleece, the T-shirt everyone wants,” sales manager Ryan Fortney said.
He said keeping up with the holiday demand takes a team effort.
“Our operations team who sources all of our products, they have to think six months to a year in advance. Six months is honestly too late,” he said.
EB and Co. owner Emily Bordner said her holiday orders go back half a year, too.
“We wanted ornaments, and we’re like okay, well it takes thirty days to ship it by sea, and the design time, and the manufacturing time, and then it’s just like, so we’re ordering on the Fourth of July,” she said.
Specializing in handmade jewelry, headbands, clips, glassware and more, Bordner said it lengthens the timeline to produce quality.
“They’re all handmade, hand beaded, and so we’ve already put in orders for November, and December, so it’s kind of crazier than it normally is,” she said.
Some shoppers are already in on the early holiday shopping.
“We celebrate Hanukkah, so for our holiday gift, we have a grab bag,” Eileen Cohen said. “We started out at $25. But it’s easy to buy an expensive gift, it’s not easy to buy a non-expensive gift.”
Cohen used to own a chocolate shoppe on the Plaza, so she remembers the holiday season in detail.
“It was busy, everybody worked. If she were alive, she would’ve worked, her dad worked, her mother worked,” Cohen said.
So as we get ready to fill our shopping bags, these stores are two steps ahead.
