Retail sales rebounding across El Paso as holiday shopping season approaches

EL PASO, Texas -- This week marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season for Borderland businesses. For the ones that have survived the pandemic, things are starting to look up.

According to data from the City of El Paso, sales tax allocations went up this year surpassing each month in 2020 and 2019. 

Across the U.S retail sales saw a third monthly increase, jumping 1.7 percent in October, according to the Census Bureau. 

"Things are picking up," Anne Mitchell owner of So El Paso, a souvenir shop in west El Paso.

"Last year, during the holidays, everyone had a big push to shop local. The city was pushing it and the Better Business Bureau was pushing it...and people really responded to that," she said.

Mitchell says it's been a roller coaster especially as supply chain issues make things more difficult. Despite that, sales are back on track from 2019.

"So we're hoping this Christmas, they're going to do the same thing...but we're hoping to blow out (the fourth quarter) with all of our holiday corporate gifting."

The National Retail Federation anticipates nearly 2 million more people than last year are expected to shop from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday.

Shop Small Saturday is this Saturday, Nov 27.