TAMPA, Fla. — Inside Blossom and Shine, Julie Dye is hard at work making jewelry.
“I’m never making just one item at a time. I always group things together so I can be as efficient as possible,” she said.
She’s filling orders that have already come in for Cyber Monday, and she’s busy. That’s obvious by the package labels in her printer.
“Every time a sale comes in I get a notification on my phone,” she said, smiling. “It makes me happy that someone has made a purchase.”
This comes after Black Friday and Small Business Saturday, which Julie said were both great for her this year.
“All three are important,” she laughed, as she mentioned how important these shopping days are for all small businesses.
According to the Retail Federation, despite inflation, holiday shopping sales will be up across the board this year. And, once again, Cyber Monday is expected to reign supreme. Adobe analytics is predicting shoppers to spend $11.2 billion on Monday alone.
“That’s amazing,” Julie said. “I hope that’s what happens.”
But, according to Adobe, due to inflation, shoppers are using flexible payment plans, and credit cards more than ever this year. Buy now, pay later payments have increased by 78%.
“Yes we’re shopping, but you want to be that smart shopper,” said Tasha Cohen-Glynn.
Cohen- Glynn is with Achieva Credit Union and she said to keep from going into debt this holiday season: use credit cards with points or special deals on them. If you choose the buy now pay later options, try to stick to ones that don’t have interest rates.
“I think the key more than anything, focus on what’s important,” she said. “I think what’s really good is prioritizing your plans. It’s just like when you go food shopping. You never go hungry because you pick up everything and you throw it in the cart. When you shop for people, think about what they really need a good gift you want to get them before shopping.”
