With the COVID-19 pandemic causing economic upheaval through 2020, retailers’ prospects for the holiday shopping season look dicey.
Brittany Quick-Warner, President of the Eugene Chamber of Commerce said many businesses are still trying to figure out fall staffing, as workers manage time allocated through the Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act. She said the picture isn’t much clearer through the rest of 2020.
“We were living in this environment where we thought we were just triaging for a few months and it’s crystal clear to everybody now that this is going to be a much longer-term impact," said Quick-Warner. "Not only on the physical spaces and the regulations, but on the mental health and on the staffing capacity.
"I think people are generally ready to get back to normal, but know that that “normal” isn’t coming anytime soon.”
The National Retail Federation says in 2019, holiday spending was more than 4% over the previous year, with shoppers spending more than $1,000 average. This year will be “unprecedented” and “unpredictable” by comparison.
Copyright 2020, KLCC.
