Nevada holiday spending projected to grow by 5%

In the Silver State, the Retail Association of Nevada (RAN) estimates that more than 1.7 million people spent a total of $638.9 million on gifts, decorations and other merchandise over the five-day period spanning from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday.

“Consumers continue to outpace spending projections this holiday season,” Bryan Wachter, senior vice president of the association, said in a statement.

“The theme of this season has been improved customer experiences across online and in-store shopping, which is resulting in increased holiday spending this year.”

The association forecasts consumer retail sales in Nevada to grow by 5 percent during the holiday shopping season this year to reach $4.5 billion.

The holiday shopping season spans November and December, and consumer spending figures exclude auto sales, restaurants and gasoline.

During the Thanksgiving shopping period, Nevadans took advantage of the competitive retail environment to find deals at both traditional brick-and-mortar and online retailers, the association said in a news release.

An estimated 806,000 people used both methods to shop, while 514,300 shopped only in-store and 708,000 shopped only online, according to Retail Association of Nevada estimates.

Shoppers who used both in-store and online channels spent an average of $366.79, about 25 percent more those shopping in only one or the other.

Nevada’s nonstore retail sales, which include online retailers, currently sit at an all-time high. In the 12 months through August 2019, nonstore retail sales totaled nearly $1.8 billion, a 43.9 percent year-over-year increase. Based on recent trends, RAN estimates that total nonstore retail sales this holiday season could exceed $522 million