Not much snow has fallen this holiday season, but shoppers still dashed to take advantage of falling prices. Over the course of the weekend, customers spent a record 79.6 billion dollars during the five-day Thanksgiving weekend that wrapped up on Cyber Monday. This shopping spree marked the beginning of the holiday season, but for the many who turned out, it also reflected the need to buy on sale amid an increasingly unaffordable economy. 

Kelsey Yoshikawa, a freshman journalism major at Emerson College, was one of the scores of shoppers who purchased a few Christmas gifts during the Black Friday sale, taking advantage of the discounts to also get winter clothing, among other items.

“I definitely bought more on Black Friday than I would typically have bought if it was just a normal shopping day,” she said.

This year, a record 203 million shoppers took advantage of the sales throughout the event. This number surpasses the previous record, making it the highest number of shoppers since the National Retail Federation began its survey eight years ago in 2017.

“This year’s record turnout reflects a highly engaged consumer who is focused on value, responds to compelling promotions, and seizes upon the opportunity to make the winter holidays special and meaningful,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said in a press release. 

Although this year’s spending broke records, it is in part driven by soaring prices rather than increased demand, with over three-quarters of Boston consumers saying they are expecting higher prices and expressing lower confidence in the economy. Consumers have said that they plan to buy less overall this holiday season, a time when businesses normally expect higher purchases. Additionally, inflation and tariffs are set to affect price increases on over half of winter holiday gifts this season.

Kazifae Bovell, a freshman communication sciences and disorders major, admitted that she waited until Black Friday to make purchases, believing that it was one of the only ways she could save money on different items.

“I was going to buy my clothes…before Black Friday, and then I remembered it was coming up. So I was like, ‘Why would I not just wait?’” Bovell said. 

Inflation has been on the rise since May, with the Federal Reserve shifting interest rates to a new range of 3.5 percent to 3.75 percent on Wednesday. Typically, the Federal Reserve operates by consensus, but this decision was starkly divided due to a halt in information from the 43-day long government shutdown. The future target rate is still up in the air. 

In addition to higher gift prices, Boston is facing a food and beverage inflation rate of 2.9%. Because of this, Thanksgiving meal prices were higher, with customers receiving less turkey, pie, and stuffing this year, for the same price in 2019, according to The Washington Post. 

Some inflation is a direct result of tariff increases on goods in the U.S. in nearly every country since President Donald Trump came into office.  

“If you get away from tariffs, inflation is in the low twos,” Jerome Powell, the current Chair of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, said in the press conference on Wednesday. 

The historic trade war is the administration’s effort to bring manufacturing back to the U.S., create jobs, boost industrial capacity, and raise new federal revenue. About 70.5% of new tariffs have been passed on to consumers, with the rest paid for by retailers, according to The Budget Lab at Yale. 

These tariffs affect the prices of both clothing and electronics—two out of the top five most desired U.S. Christmas gifts. The price of electronics is expected to increase by $186, and clothing and accessories by $82, according to a LendingTree analysis. 

Gigi Lujan, a junior journalism major, said it’s worth it to shop during the Black Friday week because prices are still going to be higher without the sales, and many items need to be purchased anyway. 

“If you want that leather jacket, get that leather jacket. If you want those shoes, get those shoes because [they’re] at a price that you’ve never seen before,” Lujan said.

The times of getting a doorbuster deal on the newest TV and leaving the Thanksgiving table in haste to wait for hours outside in line are also over, with in-store sales increasing only 1.7% this year.  

This year, millions of consumers like Lujan and Yoshikawa wrestled with economic uncertainty and turned to discounts for some relief on their wallets. Unfortunately, sales this year are decreasing, with many using the “buy now, pay later” feature. While shopping online at Hollister, Bovell was surprised to see an item go on sale for $29 when it was originally $34.  

“To me, that’s not really a Black Friday sale,” Bovell said.

In general, consumer sentiment on the economy is nearly 30% lower than just a year ago. This is largely because the majority of families cannot pay the cost of living in the U.S., and the increasing price of groceries. A new political poll finds affordability is the top issue for U.S. voters.

Trump, who vowed to make America affordable again, has recently called it a scam. He later told a rally crowd in Pennsylvania on Tuesday night that he has no higher priority than to make America affordable again. 

“They [Democrats] caused the high prices, and we’re bringing them down. It’s a simple message,” he said.

Many Democrats who won elections last month in New Jersey, Virginia, and New York campaigned on the issue of affordability. It was also a main concern that created a competitive race in a reliably red Tennessee congressional district that took place the same day as Trump’s recent remarks. 

In order to make holiday spending more affordable this year, the majority of Bostonians from all income groups are planning to use creative ways to save money, like deal seeking, recycling, trade-offs, and creating DIY gifts.

Some economists see a combination of circumstances similar to those that led to previous financial crises, while other economists, like Frank Holmes, CEO and CIO of the U.S. Global Investors, Inc., are trying to stay optimistic. He wrote in a Forbes article that American consumers remain the “engine” of the U.S. economy. He agrees that consumers are worried, but argues that they’re also boarding planes and spending where they find value.

Lujan said that Black Friday sales amidst rising consumer costs are a “ now or never” moment for buying.

“If you miss that opportunity, [then] you have to wait another year, where yes, it’s gonna be cheaper, but I think it’s gonna not be as cheap as the year before because the economy is going higher and higher,” she said.