The National Retail Federation is predicting holiday spending will be comparable to last year, with national retail sales increasing by 3.7 percent this year to $630.5 billion. Retailers here agree with those predictions, saying they too anticipate strong holiday sales.

Bryn West, general manager at River Park Square, says the mall’s retailers had strong sales for the first week of November, but her impression is that shoppers have seemed more focused on personal purchases than on gifts for others. 

“It’s an interesting trend that’s happening nationally, not just here in Spokane,” says West.  

She says some of those sales may be left-over energy from shoppers who spent their summer anticipating opportunities to purchase at new stores opening here in the fall, such as Anthropologie, which sells a curated mix of clothing, accessories, gifts, and home décor items targeted at women.

“Anthropologie is doing tremendously well,” West says. “There has definitely been a pent up demand for that brand here. It’s been very well received, and we’re so thankful for that.” 

According to the NRF, holiday spending last year rose 4.1 percent, with sales having increased by an average 2.5 percent annually during the previous 10 years. 

The organization expects holiday sales this year to represent about 19 percent of the retail industry’s annual sales of $3.2 trillion. Online sales also are expected to increase up to 8 percent this year.

In spite of the apparent lack of gift shopping leading up to the holidays, West says that based on the NRF’s predictions, she still expects a 3 percent to 5 percent increase in sales this year. 

This year, with only four weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, the timeline for holiday shopping is also a bit more condensed, West says.  

“We see people more often than when there’s a five-week gap,” she says.

Although the mall is closed on Thanksgiving, it opens on Black Friday for those shoppers who wish to visit. 

“We don’t feel it’s beneficial to have crazy hours or extra deals for that day,” says West. “We support the idea of allowing our employees more time with their families.” 

Despite the expected increase in sales, West says so far stores haven’t been hiring many additional holiday workers. Rather, they are relying on returning seasonal employees, many of whom were recruited last year. 

The NRF has predicted retailers will hire between 700,000 and 750,000 seasonal workers nationally this holiday season. According to NRF data, retailers hired an additional 714,000 seasonal holiday employees last year. 

Doug Tweedy, a Spokane-based regional labor economist with the Washington state Employment Security Department says he expects seasonal hiring to be similar to last year. 

“The difference we’re seeing this year is that holiday hires started in September and October, which is a bit earlier than usual,” says Tweedy. 

“I would expect this year’s number of seasonal workers for Spokane County to be similar to last year, somewhere around 1,200,” he says. 

Tweedy also says this year’s online sales seem to be up. “Several merchants have mentioned they are noticing more online shopping so far.”

One big retail chain that traditionally hires a lot of seasonal workers, many of whom go on to become full-time employees, is Wal-Mart Stores Inc. The company said in a recent press release that it plans to hire more than 900 seasonal associates across its 68 stores in Washington. 

Delia Garcia, a regional spokesperson for the company, says the retailer expects a competitive holiday season again this year, with many stores starting their discounts earlier than last season. 

She says the retailer has noticed customers increasingly turning to digital and mobile shopping. 

Daryl Rheingans, general manager of the Spokane Valley Mall, says he’s optimistic about holiday sales prospects.

 “So far this year we’ve seen an increase in shoppers, and I anticipate that will continue through the holidays,” he says. 

Rheingans says the mall saw the opening of a Seattle Seahawks satellite store last month, and has holiday stores such as Hickory Farms preparing to open in the coming weeks. 

Although he didn’t have exact numbers, Rheingans says he expects certain retailers there are hiring on additional seasonal workers. 

As to the limit of four shopping weekends between Thanksgiving and Christmas, Rheingans says it shouldn’t be a problem. 

“I think shoppers generally just adjust their shopping habits to meet that timeline,” he says. 

He says that while the mall is set open at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving, retailers have the option of whether or not to open that day.

 “We recognize the importance of families, and we also have shoppers who make it a tradition to shop on Thanksgiving,” says Rheingans. “Therefore, we’ve allowed it to be optional for retailers whether they’re open that day or not.” 

Debra Schultz, who with her husband, Penn Fix, co-owns Dodson’s Jewelers, says their store also has had a successful year so far.  

“Our past three Christmas seasons have seen fabulous business, so we hope to see that trend continue,” says Schultz. “It’s hard to predict, but with what we know customers are buying and asking us to design, we’re feeling pretty positive.” 

She says Dodson’s has been located at 506 W Riverside for 128 years, and sees many different generations of returning customers throughout the year. 

Schultz says the store has also noticed an uptake in the number of engagement rings sold. 

“We don’t see that every year at this time, but from the people we’ve seen looking and purchasing, it seems like it might be an engagement Christmas,” she says. 

Dodson’s also hosts art shows, displaying and selling the work of regional artists from Washington, Idaho, and Montana. Schultz says art sales have also picked up this year. 

While the store doesn’t offer Black Friday specials, sometime after Thanksgiving it’s decorated for the holidays, and its hours change to seven days a week. 

Another familiar business expecting sales growth, not surprisingly, over this season is Spokandy Chocolatier. Owner Todd Davis says the company has grown popular nationally over the years, marketing its various products through tradeshows across the country. 

“We’ve really evolved,” says Davis. “A lot of our business now is wholesale and carries our products to almost every state.” 

Davis says the Spokane community continues to be supportive of Spokandy, with loyal customers returning and spreading the word to newcomers. 

“We are seeing growth, especially since we make it a point to aggressively market our business and products,” says Davis. “I would say locally we can expect somewhere around 10 percent sales growth this year.”

Davis says Spokandy hires seasonal help, and this year has hired seven workers in addition to its usual staff of nine.

He says sometimes the best thing for business this time of year is the sight of snow on the ground. 

“Snowfall subliminally gets people thinking of Christmas,” says Davis. “We see an increase in traffic after that first snow, and I’d imagine that’s true for a lot of businesses.”