The Impact of Christmas Traditions On the American Economy

America is known as a melting pot, where many religions and therefore many holidays are observed. During the month of December, it is a common occurrence to see many people gearing up for the Christian holiday of Christmas. Throughout this essay the impact of Christmas traditions on the economy will be explored through observations of retail shopping, employment, and the upholding of traditions.

Christmas Traditions and Economy

On Christmas morning, most families gather around the tree, and exchange gifts. While holiday shopping season is vital, supplying 20 to 40 percent of Florida retailers’ annual sales (Porter)”. Christmas gift purchasing is a massive portion of annual sales. The profits received from it are vital for business. Without Christmas sales in America businesses would be out of at least a quarter of their profits. Shopping can be done in two primary ways, in store and online. Both give a dramatic economic boost. The data shows that “2017 marks a milestone in Americans’ purchasing patterns. For the first time in the history of the National Retail Federation’s consumer survey, a majority of shoppers (59 percent) said they would be shopping online. Indeed, Adobe Digital Insights reports that American shoppers spent a record $5.03 billion in 24 hours on Black Friday in 2017 alone. That figure surpassed predictions and marks a 16.9 percent increase in dollars spent online compared with that day in the 2016 shopping season (Porter)”. Not only is Christmas a major role in the economy, resulting profits for stores are growing from year to year. While the growth from 2016 to 2017 is astronomical, it is predicted to only help the economy boom more. AlixPartners predicted a 3.5 to 4.4 precent growth from year to year, while Deloitte forecasted a growth of 4 to 4.5 percent (Porter). From some gifts are home made, most are purchased from a store. Stated in a 2017 article “The one year to the next, Christmas seems to be helping the economy increasingly more. Not all shopping is done online though. Some shopping is still done in retail stores. Shoppers said that the in-person experience allows them to browse for gifts, try on clothing, or find out more about products (Porter)”. In store Christmas shopping creates another opportunity for the economy, additional employment.

To be able to spend money at Christmas, you have to be able to make money. The driving factor that prompts in store shopping, stimulates employment. In 2017 “Holiday retail activity relies on an influx of new and temporary employees. Similar to last year, Amazon said it would hire 120,000 more workers in the U.S. for this holiday season to work at the 75 fulfillment centers nationwide — picking, packing, and shipping the deluge of holiday orders. Amazon also said it expects to convert thousands of positions to full-time jobs. Several U.S. retailers, including Macy’s and Kohl’s, have been concentrating on the online components of their businesses and have ramped up hiring seasonal workers to staff their distribution centers. Target said it would hire 100,000 temporary workers, but Wal-Mart plans to offer existing workers more hours rather than adding seasonal workers (Porter)”. With more people being employed there are more people willing to spend money. During the Christmas season, additional paychecks create the opportunity for more to be spent on gifts and upkeeping Christmas traditions.

There is more to Christmas than just gifts. Many of the traditions include a tree, decorations, cards, and traveling to see family members. Florida is seen as a popular shopping destination, as well as an attractive Christmas vacation spot for foreign tourist (Porter). This revenue from tourist traveling to other states allows extra money to flow into the economy. Much online and in stores. of the money spent each holiday season goes towards keeping up the traditions of Christmas. Often fresh trees are bought every year. Then there are the decorations to cover the tree and decorations for the house itself. As well as the costs of transportation in order to visit family members. During the Christmas season there seems to be a profit at almost every turn.

Conclusion

The article “Economic Impact of The 2017 Holiday Shopping Season” by Colleen K. Porter was very insightful in regards to economic profits in America during the Christmas season. The author clearly lays out the way profits roll in and breaks them down into understandable categories. This article was selected for the wonderful way it outlines the data related to spending and profits. I learned that not only is Christmas very stimulating to the economy, but it is a staple of sales for most businesses. This article increased my understanding of how religion impacts the world based on how money is spent. The observation of one holiday in America has proven to have many benefits to the economy. Not only is Christmas a time of Christian observation, it is a time of growth.