With the holidays in the rear-view mirror, South Dakota businesses are eyeing the new year. While the shopping season wasn’t perfect, observers say it wasn’t exactly a lump of coal, either.
The weather was friendlier for the holidays this year than in 2022. But some small businesses couldn’t ride the wave into the most profitable sales season of the year.
Nathan Sanderson, executive director of the state Retailors Association, said it was a good, but not great season.
“A lot of businesses reported a little bit lower foot traffic, but about the same spending," Sanderson said. "Of course, that’s dependent upon the business and the geographic location and a whole variety of things, but as a general proposition I’d say businesses were satisfied but not through the moon excited about this holiday shopping season.”
The relatively warm and dry weather helped bolster one piece of the state’s economy, though—hunting.
“Conversely, you saw a lot more hunters come into the state than we did last year because the weather was better and there were people actively hunting pheasants right up until the recent weather we’ve had," Sanderson said. "So, it’s a bit of a mixed bag from a weather perspective.”
Sanderson said most businesses are more optimistic heading into 2024, than they were going into 2023.
“This time a year ago we were expecting some kind of recession, and I don’t think we’re really seeing that," Sanderson said. "At the same time, I think a lot of businesses are seeing now that consumers are looking more to needs than they are to wants.”
While staffing and inflation are perennial issues for both shoppers and business owners, Sanderson says he expects many of the enduring economic troubles caused by the COVID pandemic to ease in 2024.