How The Presidential Election Is Distracting Holiday Shoppers

There’s never been a presidential election cycle quite like this before. The highly contentious nature of the primaries ultimately resulted in the selection of two historically unfavorable candidates, leaving consumers — and retailers — feeling uneasy about this year’s presidential election. Retailers are uncertain about the effect it could have on the holiday shopping season, which is typically the biggest sales period of the year for many retailers. In an August survey gauging retailer sentiment on holiday spending, market research firm Fung Global Retail & Technology and predictive analytics provider First Insight found the majority of the 102 industry leaders surveyed believe the election will have a “strong impact” on consumer spending during the second half of 2016. But it’s not clear whether the election will be a good or a bad thing for retailers this holiday season: 33% predicted it would have a positive effect on spending, 31% said it would be negative, and 35% said neutral. Read more at Retail Dive.