SALT LAKE CITY — Winter weather has an affect on Christmas shopping.

“The first snowstorm drives people in here,” said Bill Sartain, owner of The Tutoring Toy in Foothill Village. “Utahns don’t worry about snow. ... Once that snow falls, we and the ski industry love it.”

Whether in traditional stores or online, Utah households plan to spend an average of $1,242 on holiday shopping this season, up $145 over last year, according to a Zions Bank Consumer Attitude Index survey for November. Residents plan to do half of their shopping online.

“That shows that the year has been strong for Utahns and they are feeling positive,” said Randy Shumway, chairman and partner of Cicero Group, which serves as an economic adviser to Zions Bank. “It also means that business can look forward to a strong showing this season, which is generally good for Utah retailers.”

The National Retail Association anticipates shoppers nationwide to exceed the 164 million Americans who made purchases on Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday last year.

The association expects consumers will spend $1,047 per person — $658 on gifts for family and friends, $227 on food, candy and decorations, and $162 on non-gifts for themselves and family members.

Consumer spending in Utah grew 7.3% from 2017 to 2018 — faster than in any other state, according to the national Bureau of Economic Analysis. Higher incomes, price growth and consumer confidence often result in more consumer spending.

Utah had the nation’s fourth highest personal income growth rate and sixth highest GDP growth rate in the second quarter of this year.

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With two weeks until the official start of the holiday shopping season, the nation’s retailers are gearing up for what should be another brutally competitive shopping period.

That means residents have more to spend and confidence in the overall economy, Shumway said.

Holiday shopping, which has a late start this year because Thanksgiving comes at the end of November, is already in full swing, with 72% of Utahns already hitting stores, according to the consumer survey.

“We are seeing an early onslaught of Christmas shopping taking place,” said Sartain, who along with his wife, Diane, escaped corporate life to open The Tutoring Toy 31 years ago.

Sartain said a major toy manufacturer told him this could be the best year since 2013 in terms of total sales. The only apprehension manufacturers have expressed is possible shipping problems due to the late start. Retailers who have placed orders could be in a little bit of trouble in the next few weeks, he said.

Given the positive economic outlook, the Sartains recently doubled the size of their store. Customers, he said, don’t usually walk out without making a purchase.

“I don’t think we’re finding any struggles right now, knock on wood,” he said.

The shop seems to be insulated from the internet because many of the manufacturers it does business with around the world are small and can’t accommodate the demands of large retailers, Sartain said. Some, he said, refuse to sell online, preferring to deal with specialty stores.

Sartain said customers appreciate the “hello” and “thank you” that they can’t get on the internet, not to mention free gift wrapping.

The Utah Present Situation Index, which measures residents’ feelings about the current economy, dropped 1.7 points from last month, settling at 129.8 for November.

Confidence in job availability and general economic conditions dipped slightly. This month, 62% of Utahns feel that jobs are plentiful, while 58% feel business conditions are good. Both are down 3% from October.

The consumer survey showed 85% of Utahns believe jobs will be more plentiful or the same in six months, which is down 2% since October.

“The slight drop in Utahns’ thoughts on job availability likely comes because the employment situation has been so strong it is hard to imagine things improving even more,” said Chad Berbert, Cicero Group principal.

The unemployment rate in Utah is 2.5%, according to the Department of Workforce Services. That is well below the national rate of 3.6% and just a hair above the all-time low of 2.4% set in 2007.

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