The majority of holiday shoppers in New Hampshire are ready to crack open their wallets, even though many say they’re pessimistic about their own financial futures — and that of the country.
A new survey of 1,400 Granite State residents focused on consumer confidence by the Business and Industry Association finds that just one in five households in New Hampshire say they’re better off today economically than they were a year ago. And looking ahead, just 28% of the survey’s respondents said their financial prospects for next year are positive.
Nevertheless, the same survey found that holiday spending entering the crucial Black Friday holiday weekend is forecasted to be relatively strong.
“The feelings that people have typically can impact the state of the economy,” says Andy Smith, who directs the UNH Survey Center, which conducted the poll.
The poll finds that 61% of respondents say they will spend the same or more this year on gifts, up from 46% when the same question was asked in 2020.
Of course, they may be forced to: Tariffs and persistent inflation continue to drive up costs.
Smith says smaller retail shops — the kinds that populate New Hampshire's main streets — are generally not as well positioned to absorb higher wholesale costs than industry giants, meaning higher costs “are going to be passed on to the customers.”
Thank ‘ewe’ for shopping local
A lot of the wool imported by Kelly Bridges, owner of The Elegant Ewe, a cleverly named knitting store in Concord, has been slapped with import duties, forcing Bridges to raise her prices.
But she says, by and large, customers don’t seem to be cutting back on their fiber intake.
“We've had a lot of price increases happen over the last six months, and a lot of it is tariff-based because many of our products come from overseas,” she says, “but I can't say that our customers have been too affected by it.”
While the gift buying season traditionally launches on Black Friday, the world of knitting operates on its own calendar: “Our busiest month is often November instead of December because people are getting ready to knit their projects.”
To have those beanies, scarves, and sweaters ready by the holidays, knitters need to start early.
Patrick Quinn was getting a jump on Black Friday deals this week inside the Elegant Ewe. They have noticed higher prices on a range of goods, forcing a change in strategy this holiday season.
“I'm choosing to mostly hand-make my gifts for my people, for my family and such, rather than going out and buying from, like, Target or whatever,” said Quinn. “I want to do something that is a little bit more affordable in terms of material costs, but then also has a little bit more meaning.”
Bent into a pretzel
Wool costs more. Imported wines from Europe, too, and Brazilian coffee is also facing sharp import taxes by the Trump administration. The tariffs, in theory, are meant to boost American-made products. But consider the humble bag of pretzels.
Suzanne Foley, the founder of Port City Pretzels in Portsmouth, says her biggest costs are workforce — she has 40 employees — as well as the cardboard and shipping costs for getting their pretzels to retail outlets. And the bags that they use to, well, bag their honey mustard and ranch dill offerings are purchased from China, a major target of the Trump trade war.
“We did see a little bump in the first quote that we got, and that was a little tough to take,” says Foley, who wasn’t able to switch to another supplier. “I wish the bags would be cheaper to buy in the States, but they're not, and I don't understand why.”
Foley says the snack food market is so competitive that raising her prices would give the major brand name giants too big an advantage. So this holiday season, a bag of pretzels will cost consumers the same, even though they cost her more to make.
