Holiday shopping. 
Welcome to the Know the Difference Minute for Thursday, October 29th. 
Holiday shopping this year will look a LOT different than last year. First off, there will be plenty of sales. 
Last year, shopping started early as people were worried about finding out-of-stock merchandise. Demand was high so retailers didn’t feel pressure to offer discounts. 
It’s different this year. Stores have excess inventory. One market research firm said this will be the year of the perpetual deal. It will be especially good for electronics. Discounts on computers are expected to hit the deepest levels since Adobe Analytics started tracking figures in 2017. 
Walmart, Target, and Best Buy know its coming. They’ve cut profit outlooks based the need to offer deeper discounts. 
Expectations aren’t high. One consulting firm forecasts growth as much as 7.5% but when inflation is factored in, it’s only a 1 to 3% bump. Others aren’t even that optimistic. 
I’m Dave Spano from Annex Wealth Management.  That is your Know the Difference Minute.