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San Diego Retailers Brace for Busy Shopping Season

San Diego merchants are bracing for lots of visitors this weekend as the Christmas shopping season hits full stride. KPBS Reporter Erik Anderson has details.

San Diego merchants are bracing for lots of visitors this weekend as the Christmas shopping season hits full stride. KPBS Reporter Erik Anderson has details.

The holiday shopping season is a sprint to profitability for many retailers. Some stores sell 90 percent of their merchandise in the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Retail Industry consultant George Whalin says all indicators are pointing to a robust holiday shopping season. He says the Internet is changing the way people shop, but it will not reduce crowds at local malls.

Whalin: The internet has really become a tool for consumers to choose what they’re going to buy. They do their research on the internet and then go to physical stores to touch and feel and look at.

Whalin says retailers will know by the end of the weekend what kind of holiday shopping season they’ll have this year. He expects stores to do well. Erik Anderson KPBS News.