With the economy showing signs of slowing down ahead of the holiday shopping season’s annual Black Friday kickoff, Orange County retailers likely won’t see the profits they did last year, according to a Chapman university economics expert.
“People are spending more, but that’s because prices are higher, not because they’re buying more,” Raymond Sfeir, director of the A. Gary Anderson Center for Economic Research at Chapman University, told City News Service.
Want to get caught up on what’s happening in SoCal every weekday afternoon? Click to follow The L.A. Local wherever you get podcasts.
“People are spending more on services” such as traveling and dining, but less on manufactured goods, Sfeir said. “So things are not going to be as rosy as last year… and next year even a little bit worse because employment is not going (to be) as high, especially if the new president imposes tariffs, which will make things more expensive than cheaper on manufactured goods. It will push prices upward. So the picture is OK, but not as good as last year.”