Analysts we talk to say not only will consumers be in a better buying mood with the government reopening, but the even better news is the prices should be good too.
The Best Buy store in San Francisco is buzzing with activities on a weekday afternoon. Many of the shoppers we talked to are international tourist looking to take advantage of the good deals offered in the United States.
"The prices are good. If I compare it to Brazil, here's very good," said Fabiana Lois, a tourist from Brazil.
Helen Bulwik is a retail analyst with the Newport Board Group, a business consulting firm. She said, "Prices are excellent. Their excellent right now and they're going to get better as we get further into the season."
Bulwik says it's what consumers here in the United States have come to expect and retailers are giving it to them. "It's a question about how retailers are able to buy their product, what the consumer has been demanding. It's about value."
And in the area of smartphone and tablets, that value is driving sales.
"Prices are much down now, but still, if its goes even cheaper, that's good," said Sangeet Lal an Oregon resident.
Figures from the Consumer Electronics Association show smartphone and tablets will represent 32 percent of all consumer electronic sales this year. And Bulwik tells us smartphones, tablets and readers will be the hot sellers this holiday season.
"If you think about what our life is built around nowadays, it's all around cellphones and it's around tablets. How do we stay connected to each other across the world?" said Eddie Perkins, a Best Buy store manager.
Juan Kim, a Paraguay resident, predicts that a tablet will be his biggest holiday purchase this year. He said, "It's important to me to have it because everyone else has it."
Consumers we talked with said price and features are the two most important factors that determine what they will buy. Best Buy says consumers can get both.
"What you get out of $400 today versus what you get out of $400 last year is going to be a lot better product, so more features, faster processors, better resolution," said Perkins.
Bulwik expects inventory to be good this year and says you should be able to find most of everything you're looking for on the store shelves.
Also, there's a new grocery service that promises to make your life easier and we find out if it really delivers. Read that story here.
