Phoenix area business owners say holiday shoppers showed their local support in a big way

PHOENIX - Holiday sales are way up from 2020 at this time, experts say, as large numbers of people flocked to stores to shop in person.

According to numbers from MasterCard Spending Plus, holiday sales are up 8.5% this year from last year. They're also up 10.7% from 2019.

Can you guess what the increase is fueled by? Clothing and jewelry purchases.

After more than a year of trying to isolate and stay at home, a lot of Phoenix-area business owners say that most people prefer to come in person to shop for Christmas gifts, and sometimes little gifts for themselves.

Most small, local shops were not hit as hard as some big retailers were by the supply chain issues. They say they had a hard time getting some packaging a few weeks back for their products, but that was the extent of it.

‘It was a better choice’

Business owners say they're grateful for the community's support, especially around the holidays.

"I think that people went to the bigger stores and saw empty shelves, and realized the local community is what keeps their communities thriving, and it was a better choice," Lisa Valenzuela said.

Erika Williams adds, "People have come out, wanted to shop in person, really. We've heard people say they want to go out. Gift cards were big, sending each other wish lists and our customers really liked that. They were big in supporting us this year."

Even better news, sales are expected to continue to pick up into the new year.