A number of Northeast Pennsylvania retailers are feeling the sting of inflation and, in some cases, high tariffs, while others surveyed are doing better.
Those mixed reviews come following a U.S. Census Bureau report showing U.S. retail and food services sales for August 2026 were $773.9 billion, up 1.2% from July and up 6% year‑over‑year, according to the latest data available.
But with that increased spending comes increased debt, with predictions that household debt will hit the highest mark ever by the end of this year.
Larry Newman, executive director of Wilkes-Barre’s Diamond City Partnership, a nonprofit alliance working to revitalize the city’s downtown, said retailers there have seen sales decrease recently.
He said based on conversations with retailers, restaurant owners and other service providers, “There’s been a noticeable decrease in sales in the last six weeks, if not longer.”
Newman said that has been due to “larger macroeconomic trends in the nation, everything from the cost of goods, to increases in fuel prices, to getting goods to market on the supply end.”
He said downtown merchants are seeing consumers cutting back on discretionary spending.
“In some cases, I’ve heard 30% (in less spending),” Newman said. “Our downtown is really all discretionary spending.”
Gifts big sellers
Maggie Calpin, owner of Nibbles & Bits, a gift shop in Dunmore, said her business is up by about 20% this year, and she is looking forward to a busy Christmas shopping season, her biggest holiday. Calpin, the third owner of the 41-year-old business, purchased the store 17 years ago. She expanded this year and opened a warehouse in the Keystone Industrial Park.
Nibbles & Bits owner Maggie Calpin poses for a photograph in her store in Dunmore Wednesday, September 30, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
The inside of Nibbles & Bits in Dunmore Wednesday, September 30, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
The inside of Nibbles & Bits in Dunmore Wednesday, September 30, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
The inside of Nibbles & Bits in Dunmore Wednesday, September 30, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Items are for sale in Nibbles & Bits in Dunmore Wednesday, September 30, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Items are for sale in Nibbles & Bits in Dunmore Wednesday, September 30, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Items are for sale in Nibbles & Bits in Dunmore Wednesday, September 30, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
The inside of Nibbles & Bits in Dunmore Wednesday, September 30, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Items are for sale in Nibbles & Bits in Dunmore Wednesday, September 30, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
The inside of Nibbles & Bits in Dunmore Wednesday, September 30, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Various types of organic coffee is for sale in Nibbles & Bits in Dunmore Wednesday, September 30, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Items are for sale in Nibbles & Bits in Dunmore Wednesday, September 30, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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Nibbles & Bits owner Maggie Calpin poses for a photograph in her store in Dunmore Wednesday, September 30, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
“Corporate gifts are our bread and butter,” Calpin said.
She said Valentine’s Day and Easter were her biggest holidays so far.
“The lines were out the door,” she said.
Calpin said she is seeing fewer people are ordering online, unlike the trend that started during the pandemic.
“What I’m noticing is, when you order online, it doesn’t come the next day, or it’s delivered elsewhere,” she said.
She sees customers returning to retail stores to shop in person.
“People like to see (merchandise), look at it and touch it,” Calpin said.
Nibbles & Bits still sells online, though. Even most customers who shop in-person use credit cards, which is the case for many retailers. Calpin said her business does not charge a fee for credit cards.
At Duvall Leather in Kingston, another destination for gift buyers, sales increased 5% to 10%, according to owner Nick Duvall.
“Every year, sales continue to tick upward,” said Duvall, who has been in business since 2005.
He said tariffs haven’t been a problem for him because only a few items he buys are affected.
Much of his business is in-store. With customers paying $300 to $500 for a genuine leather, handcrafted bag or other item, they want to see it in person, he said.
Duvall expects a good holiday season, as well, because of the gift-giving tradition.
“A gift is more personal,” he said. “When it comes to the holidays, Americans love spending money. It’s like eating turkey on Thanksgiving.”
All of his business is done by credit cards for the purchases of his high-ticket items.
“We don’t accept checks,” Duvall said.
Credit card debt near record
John Augustine III, president and CEO of Penn’s Northeast, an economic development agency based in Luzerne County, said that according to Motley Fool and Wallet Hub, the average consumer credit card debt is $6,000, while the average for households is $9,000.
Last year, credit card debt totaled $1.28 trillion nationally last year.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s quarterly report on household debt and credit stated credit card balances rose $21 billion in the second quarter of 2026 to reach $1.26 trillion.
“The projection is that is expected to be over $1.3 trillion (by year’s end),” Augustine said.
Newman said credit cards don’t only create more debt for consumers, but for retailers, as well.
“The merchant has to eat those fees or pass those fees along to the consumer at the point of sale,” he said.
But he said everyone is trying to be optimistic.
“I would encourage your readers to support their local businesses whenever they can,” Newman said.
“Shopping small this holiday season is more important than ever,” said Kristine Augustine, vice president of membership and marketing at the Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce. “As small businesses continue to face rising costs, every local purchase makes a difference —supporting local jobs, strengthening our businesses and keeping dollars right here in our community.”