Industry experts predict — despite the uncertainties of the ongoing COVID-19 public health crisis — that retail sales during the coming holiday season will outrun last year’s record-setting pace.
But the prospects for local brick-and-mortar businesses and those who work inside them remains bleak, with concerns about a shifting market landscape and the hardships of unemployment and poor wages, according to recent reports.
International real estate firm and market analyst CBRE released its 2020 U.S. Retail Holiday Trends Guide report with the title “A Holiday Shopping Season Like No Other” — a phrase which could read as a rose-colored marketing tag line for some; a dire warning to others.
