OC Black Friday Shoppers Line Up For Deals, New Taylor Swift Book

NEWPORT BEACH, CA — Orange County retailers may not see the profits of 2023, according to a Chapman University economics expert, but on the morning of Black Friday, shoppers were out deal-hunting for the perfect gift.

The county's shopping centers offer discounts to kick off the holiday shopping season, but fewer such events exist than in past years.

On Friday morning, Target stores opened to big lines of Taylor Swift fans awaiting the purchase the new "The Official Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour Book (Target Exclusive)," Era's Tour picture book as stores opened at 6 a.m. The hardcover book, retailing for $39, was exclusively for sale in Target stores Friday morning. According to one store manager, the book release drew numerous Swifties to wait in long lines at Targets across the county, boosting the number of Black Friday shoppers inside the store.

The Irvine Spectrum shopping center has a full day of entertainment planned, including performances by an a capella group, holiday karaoke, a DJ near the ice rink, and other live musical performances.

South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa features visits with Santa Claus and rides on the unique Reindeer Carousel and Santa's Express Train.

Will those extra offerings entice Orange County shoppers to get outside to shop? Chapman University's Director of the A. Gary Anderson Center for Economic Research at Chapman University, Raymond Sfeir is one to shop in-store rather than online, which better affects the local economy.

"I still like going shopping and kicking the tires," Sfeir said. "I don't like shopping online." Online shopping has changed the business landscape in Orange County and across the globe. He believes the economy is showing signs of slowing down ahead of the holiday shopping season's annual season.

"People are spending more, but that's because prices are higher, not because they're buying more," Sfeir told media outlets.

"People are spending more on services" such as traveling and dining, but less on manufactured goods, Sfeir said. "So things are not going to be as rosy as last year."

He also predicts that 2025 will be "... a little bit worse because employment is not going (to be) as high, especially if the new president imposes tariffs, making things more expensive than cheaper on manufactured goods. It will push prices upward. So the picture is OK, but not as good as last year."

The professor said the shift toward services such as traveling is generational.

"The young people, in particular, value those experiences more than the older people," Sfeir said.

Nationally, retail sales are increasing, but sales in California are declining, he said.

"That's partly due to the loss in population both in Orange County and California, which ended up losing population, which ended up affecting taxable sales," Sfeir said.

In 2024, Orange County's population only grew a little, which is a good thing, he says.

Adding about 9,000 people is "...a very small increase in taxable sales for Orange County and California. It can be an improvement and no longer a negative because the population is no longer going down."

Nationally, the country is generating fewer jobs, Sfeir noted.

"On the employment side things are not like what they were last year or at the beginning of this year and we're creating fewer jobs and we believe this will continue next year as well," Sfeir told CNS. "Large companies like Target and Amazon are planning on large increases in seasonal employment, which is a good sign."

For the first 10 months of 2023, national retail sales increased 3.4% over 2022, but this year the increase was 2.3%, Sfeir said.

"That's a sign that retail sales are not growing as fast as they used to be," he said. "In October, furniture went down and clothing went down, so people are spending less in these two categories."

Meanwhile, online shopping continues to grow, and Swifties who missed their Taylor Swift book release will be able to order the book online after midnight on Nov. 30, according to Target retailers.