Bay Area economy healthy as holiday shopping season arrives
With APEC in the rearview mirror, Bay Area residents are getting set to welcome in the holiday season.
The international conference certainly negatively impacted the otherwise healthy Bay Area economy.
Celia Anaya owns Wax Addict on Market Street and said her business was down 25% last week.
She will remain open this week to help make up for the financial losses suffered during APEC as the holidays quickly approach.
"It's the week before Thanksgiving which is normally one of the busiest of the year," Anaya said.
But, as the page is turned and shoppers like Celia begin to flock to stores both in person and online, they may notice an early holiday gift of sorts-- price drops.
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However, Bay Area economist James McBride told KTVU the economy is far from a point of deflation.
McBride said inflation is declining rapidly, but the economy is still above the federal target of 2%.
According to the consumer price index, items people typically buy during the holidays like major appliances, toys, or used cars are down from almost 10 to 4%.
Major retailers like Target and T.J. Maxx reported higher-than-expected sales, in part because Americans are spending more money on necessities like food as opposed to discretionary items like clothes.
McBride credited the healthy Bay Area economy to an incredibly low unemployment rate.
"The unemployment rate here in the Bay Area is below 3%," McBride said. "People have jobs, they have money and they're spending it."
Airfare prices have also dropped 13%, though McBride warned that number could be misleading as prices jumped to near record levels after the pandemic.