IU business expert shares positive retail outlook for holiday shopping season
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowAs the holiday shopping season approaches, Indiana business experts have positive predictions for the economy.
Phil Powell, executive director of the Indiana Business Research Center, says unlike in previous years, inflation has been tamed.
“There’s a lot to celebrate right now. If my business depends a lot on Christmas and the holidays, there’s all sorts of reasons to be optimistic,” Powell said. “There’s no slowdown right now in consumer spending. Consumers are coming into the season very strong, and inflation is down around 2% right now.”
Last month, the Indiana University Kelley School of Business released Futurecast 2025, its annual economic forecast. The report found Indiana has seen strong wage growth and Powell says that will help the economy next year.
“For the first time in a long time [in] the state of Indiana, our productivity, which leads to higher wages, is growing faster than the rest of the nation,” Powell said. “And not just a little bit, but by almost a percentage point. This gives the new General Assembly and the new governor a lot of momentum as we go into the new year.”
Powell projects 2025 will be a strong year for Indianapolis in terms of investment and projects.
“This is going to be a great year for Indianapolis to reset its economic pace, to really contribute a lot to the U.S. economy and be even more competitive than it has been in the past,” Powell said.
IBJ Media recently hosted a 2025 Economic Forecast presented by Fifth Third Bank. The presentation is available online.