Black Friday shoppers flocked to stores, hoping to get more bags for their buck as they grapple with inflation, tariffs and anxiety about the health of the economy.<\/p>\n
Citadel Outlets in Commerce was mobbed Friday morning with long waits for parking and winding lines in front of stores as consumers tried to grab good deals. Camila Romero and her 13-year-old daughter spent hours in line trying to get the best possible deals on Ugg and Coach items on their wish lists.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou come to the Citadel because it\u2019s outlets. And it\u2019s discounts on top of that,\u201d she said. \u201cSo even when you\u2019re broke, you don\u2019t feel it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shoppers across Los Angeles plan to spend less this holiday season, data show. While retailers tease their biggest deals<\/a> and prepare for what they hope is robust demand, a Deloitte survey found that Angelenos plan to spend 14% less over the holidays compared with last year. <\/p>\n Nationally, shoppers are expected to spend 10% less than last year. <\/p>\n Consumers are pulling back on spending in response to economic uncertainty and rising prices, said Rebecca Lohrey, a partner at Deloitte with expertise in retail and e-commerce.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is at least a perception of higher prices and higher costs of goods,\u201d Lohrey said. \u201cThat is a concern for consumers across the board, and is one of the reasons they\u2019re tightening their wallets<\/a> a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n The survey found that 62% of Angelenos expect the economy to weaken in the year ahead, up from 34% in 2024. Around the same percentage of respondents said they are concerned about a potential recession in the next six months. <\/p>\n Across income groups, consumers are making cost-cutting trade-offs and putting more emphasis on finding the best deal, the data showed. More than half of Los Angeles respondents said they would switch brands if their first choice was too expensive. <\/p>\n \u201cIt tends to be the lower income brackets or the middle income brackets that are the most likely to trade down,\u201d said Collin Colburn, vice president of commerce and retail media at the Interactive Advertising Bureau. \u201cThis year, actually, everyone is trading down.\u201d<\/p>\n Camryn Smith and her daughter showed up to snoop around for the deals at the Americana at Brand in Glendale early Friday morning. The discounts help knock off some of the effect of inflation, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe prices are higher and they just bring them down to what they normally would be,\u201d Smith said. \u201cIt\u2019s crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n Consumers are fatigued from continuous inflation<\/a> and instability brought on by the Trump administration. More shoppers are regifting or considering giving homemade gifts, the Deloitte survey found.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been in an environment where prices continue to rise for a host of reasons, inflation being one, tariffs being another,\u201d Colburn said. \u201cI think when that happens year on year, it really drags on the consumer.\u201d<\/p>\n This means more shoppers are looking for ways to save on purchases \u2014 and presents \u2014 they cannot put off. <\/p>\n