Thanksgiving spending could break records as people hit stores for last-minute items
Thanksgiving meal kicks off holiday shopping blitz in WA
In the first shopping blitz in the kickoff to the holidays includes preparation for big Thanksgiving. FOX 13's Jennifer Dowling spoke with last-minute shoppers in Kirkland to see what they were buying and how they were planning to celebrate.
KIRKLAND, Wash. - The National Retail Federation (NFR) expects holiday sales to surpass $1 trillion this year for the first time. NFR predicts retail sales in November and December will be up around 4% over 2024.
The first shopping blitz in the kickoff to the holiday season includes preparations for big Thanksgiving celebrations.
At the QFC in Kirkland, Sofia Fatakhova was picking up flowers and a bouquet of other last-minute items to host Thanksgiving dinner.
"We forgot to buy a brine kit for our turkey," said Sofia.
With little Gi Gi, the maltipoo, on hand to consult, Sofia was keeping her shopping on schedule as she navigated the busy aisles.
"Here’s our little girl. Gi Gi, you want to say ‘Hi’?", she said, showing off the dog. "She likes all holidays."
Employee Robert Yuasa explained the most popular items coming through the checkout lines.
"Mostly like turkey and ham," said Yuasa.
Mafi, the manager at QFC, tells me that the Wednesday before Thanksgiving is hands down the busiest day of the year and Thanksgiving itself is also typically packed.
"For Thanksgiving, it’s going to close at 6. So, we are probably going to be expecting a good amount of people," said Yuasa.
According to the National Retail Federation, Thanksgiving weekend 2025 is expected to draw the largest number of shoppers on record. The graph below shows how high the numbers are expected to climb during the holiday compared to other years.
NFR says that Prospter Insights and Analytics shows that the figure is up more than 3 million total shoppers from the previous record of more than 183 million last year.
QFC shopper Joel Watanabe of Kirkland was focused on the sweet side of the holidays in his contribution to Thanksgiving dinner.
"You got pineapple, mandarin oranges, a mix of cool whip and sour cream. It’s pretty much all sugar, all the good stuff," said Joel, showing us a photo of the recipe he was using, pictured below.
His special dish is the marshmallow-filled and sometimes controversial Ambrosia salad.
"No coconut for us. It’s a very divisive ingredient. Some people love it. Some people don’t like it. We’re doing a crowd-pleaser."
The only one Sofia's not shopping for this Thanksgiving holiday is Gi Gi.
"Every day is a holiday for this girl, very spoiled," she explained.
The Source: Information in this story comes from original reporting by FOX 13 Seattle.
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