Sac州立大学的专家们就当前的购物季以及个人在其中的位置提供了一些见解。 （博彩平台/安德里亚·普莱斯）

“Alexa, what should I buy my friends and relatives for Christmas?”

The answer, for many shoppers this holiday season, will be “smart” speakers and other wireless devices that act as digital assistants, say College of 工商管理 faculty members who study consumer behavior.

“Technology-enabled gadgets are going to be hot products,” said Jesse Catlin, an associate professor of marketing whose specialty is consumer psychology. 他说，无人机、语音识别设备和使用技术远程连接人们的小工具可能会排在购物清单的首位。

萨克州立大学的专家说，礼品卡也重新受到青睐，似乎在这个假期又要卷土重来了。

与实物相比，以生活方式体验为礼物的比例似乎也在上升。

“You can give me a wallet. That’s nice, but it’s more for utility,” observed marketing professor Beomjoon “Peter” Choi. “A gift of something like a day or two of wine tasting in Napa is an experience. It will linger in the memory.”

当地和全国的强劲经济预示着一个购物季的销售额可能会创下历史新高，尤其是在线销售。 Early statistics reported by 《福布斯》 magazine found that the Nov. 23 “Black Friday” sales for the country’s top online merchants rose to a record $6 billion, more than 20 percent over the previous year.

Surveys conducted by the 萨克拉门托 Business Review, for which Catlin and other 囊状态 faculty members study regional economic trends, suggest that “people are feeling pretty good” about the local area’s outlook, Catlin said.

And perception of the economy’s strength might be the most significant driver of spending trends during the holiday season.

但萨克州立大学营销学名誉教授丹尼斯·图特利安（Dennis Tootelian）说，其他几个因素也可能影响今年的购买习惯。 图特利安说，在北加州，巴特县毁灭性的坎普大火造成至少86人死亡，几乎摧毁了天堂镇，这可能会影响礼物的购买。 在全国范围内，动荡的股市可能是一个因素。

“This year will be interesting because the stock market is experiencing huge swings, and consumers don’t know how rich or poor they really are,” he observed.

“It also will be interesting to see if Northern California consumers redirect some of their holiday spending this year to donations for the Camp Fire victims,” said Tootelian. “I suspect that some money will drain from shopping to that, but probably nothing drastic.”

在2018年的假日零售调查中，金融咨询公司德勤（Deloitte）发现，60%的购物者计划在网上购买节日礼物，而去年这一比例为55%。 调查显示，只有32%的人计划在传统百货商店购物，比2017年略有上升。

Traditional malls “are not going to go away any time soon,” said Choi, despite the fact that more and more consumers are shopping online.

“People have been saying that brick-and-mortar stores are dying since the 1990s,” Catlin said. “But there still is a place for them.”

崔和卡特林一致认为，未来的购物中心可能会有所不同，而变化已经在发生。

“I think we’ll start to see more hybrid models with smaller locations and fewer choices, backed up by a wider selection of merchandise online,” Catlin predicted.

Choi thinks large shopping centers will have to become “entertainment centers” to lure customers, offering much more than just products to purchase.

“They’re going to have to give people reasons to get out of the house” to find gifts and personal items, he said.

“Food trucks, music, a festival atmosphere, not just stores” will lure shoppers and encourage them to stay awhile, he predicted.

“Studies have shown a direct correlation between how long people spend at shopping venues and how much they spend,” Choi said. “So find a way to make them stay!” – 辛西娅·休伯特