Holiday shopping will look different this year. Here’s what to expect

Holiday shopping could look different this year for a variety of reasons.

Despite soaring inflation, the National Retail Federation predicted that a record 166 million people will go shopping this weekend — 8 million more than last year’s Black Friday weekend.

Several stores are offering discounts days before Black Friday.

This year is a stark contrast to last year, when stores were suffering supply chain shortages and didn’t offer as many deals, according to retail business expert Kim Sovell. She said she expects the biggest discounts will be in clothes, toys and electronics.

Jill Renslow, who works in Business Development for the Mall of America, said she’s hearing from stores that the deals won’t stop after Black Friday.

“It’s not going to be kind of that one day and gone — they’re going to have some special doorbusters as they typically do, but youre going to see discounts from 30-60% throughout the season,” Renslow said.

There will also be discounts on local attractions, encouraging people to give the gift of an experience.