Pat Shannahan / McClatchy Tribune

Recession-plagued economy prompts thrifty shopping

The holiday season is just around the corner and consumers are not shopping like they used to. In fact, many people concerned about the economy and employment are cutting back on the holiday shopping.

According to the National Retail Federation, the 2009 holiday sales have been projected to decline one percent this year to $437.6 billion, a far cry from the ten-year average of 3.39 percent holiday season growth.

“I haven’t been to the mall in quite a while,” said senior special education major Jessica Gutierrez. “I just can’t afford to go shopping anymore because they cut back on my hours at work.”

Gutierrez said she used to go shopping twice a week, but now makes a trip to the mall once a month and only when it is necessary for her to go.

“When I go to the mall now, I look at the clearance racks or wait for the sales because it’s very hard to shop when I only work part-time and I have to put myself through school,” Gutierrez said.

Like Gutierrez, many consumers have reduced their holiday shopping habits and have instead sought out considerable incentives from retail giants like Nordstrom’s and Aéropostale where advertisers have slashed prices up to 50 percent.

To save even more money, some people have turned to making homemade gifts and other penny-pinching techniques to make it through the holidays.

For Gutierrez, additional sacrifices had to be made in her household in response to the current economic condition.

“This holiday I will not be buying gifts for everyone,” Gutierrez said. “Instead, my family and I have decided to do a gift exchange so that we can save money and only buy a single gift rather than many.”

Gutierrez, however, is not alone in this situation. Other shoppers have resorted to gift-giving alternatives with the intent to cutback on spending.

“Last holiday season I had already begun shopping for gifts, but this holiday season I haven’t shopped at all,” said Jessica Vera, a California State University, Fresno graduate.

Vera said she will have to follow a strict shopping budget this year.

“My family decided this Christmas to draw names amongst my siblings, brothers and sisters-in-law, uncles, aunts and cousins,” Vera said.

Similarly, senior Carmen Bravo said that she cannot afford to spend a lot on gifts, because she has other bills that need to be paid. To cope, Bravo said that she plans to only purchase gifts for her parents.

Bravo, who works as a sales associate at New York & Company in the Fashion Fair Mall, said shoppers do not appear to be affected by the economy.

“I have seen customers spend so much money on items that can be purchased at lower prices at stores like Ross, Marshalls department stores or TJ Maxx,” Bravo said.

Although mall parking lots may be filled with cars and stores buzzing with shoppers, this holiday season may signal a shift in spending habits and gift-giving practices for consumers across the country.