Suburban Shops Cautiously Optimistic for Holiday Season

While consumer confidence climbed to a five-year high this month, area small retailers remain cautiously optimistic that this holiday season will bode well for them.

Any shift in the economic tide — inflationary reports, a bad jobs outlook — could dampen consumer confidence, they say. Their shops don’t have the cushion of a national retailer and their business often involve a conscious decision by a consumer to shop local or away from a mall or shopping center full of chain stores.

Red Bird Cafe and Gift Shop owner Jo Matela says consumers are feeling a little more confident this year.