Save Or Spend, That’s The Question

According to a recent study by Deloitte, this year’s holiday retail season is marked by “unparalleled uncertainty.”

As retailers and consumers alike tread carefully in the age of COVID-19, confidence during the holidays is understandably low. With the presidential elections in the US, vaccine trials, a reprisal of the pandemic peaks and rising job losses, perhaps saving a healthy nest egg is what is driving customers right now.

Incomes are of course a differentiator. While the poor and the middle-class scrimp and save, the affluent will be unrestricted. And with restrictions on travel, entertainment and other experiences, barring the super rich, perhaps the only gifts exchanged will be those of gratitude.