HOLIDAY SHOPPING FORECAST THIS WEEK

posted by Lucy Valencia

Black Friday, the manic shopping day after Thanksgiving, is just around the corner. This frenzied day marks the kick-off for the holiday shopping season and a one-day peak in sales for retail stores.

Tucson is expecting a mass of international shoppers from Mexico to help boost sales. According to the Metropolitan Tucson Convention and Visitors Bureau, visitors from Mexico spend about $940 million in Pima County.

Nationwide, shoppers spend nearly half of a trillion dollars during this time—an estimated 19 percent of annual retail sales, according to the National Retail Federation. That helps explain why it's called Black Friday; it's when many retail businesses see their operations go into the black for the year.

In the recent recession, the one-day specials of Black Friday were followed by lousy sales throughout the rest of the holiday season.

In Arizona, improvement has been seen in sales over the last two years. The number of people who shopped the weekend after Thanksgiving increased from 195 million in 2009 to 212 million in 2010.

What are Tucson retailers and national chains expecting this holiday season? Tune in this Friday, to find out more when Arizona Week's host Michael Chihak interviews retail and economic experts to discuss what they expect the forecast to be for 2011’s holiday season.

We’ll speak with Felipe Garcia, MTCVB’s vice president of Mexico marketing and community affairs, about the economic boost Mexican shoppers provide.

We’ll also interview international marketing expert Martha Van Gelder about the retailing shopping season. A former growth developer for companies such as Walt Disney, Gelder now serves as the new director of the Terry J. Lundgren Center for Retailing at the University of Arizona.