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Christmas season in New York City
(New York, NY) — It’s the big question. When is the best time to buy a real or fake Christmas tree? If you’re an artificial Christmas tree fan, experts say now is the time to buy one due to the impact of tariffs of those imported from abroad. Mac Harman CEO of artificial tree maker Balsam Hill tells The Today Show, he expects prices to be up a little more than 10-percent this year. He says if it’s a tree on promotion, and it’s a tree you want, it’s not worth waiting to buy it. Harman adds, “I wouldn’t risk waiting. I definitely wouldn’t wait until December because I think that’s where we’re going to see certain items selling out sooner than they normally do.”
Costco even said that they’re stocking less Christmas trees this year and using the extra space for furniture instead.
CUT DOWN YOUR OWN CHRISTMAS TREE
One way to save is going fresh, since buying a home-grown tree means it’s tariff free. The Real Christmas Tree Board said a majority of wholesale growers said they do not plan to increase prices this year. Meantime, decorations could also see higher prices, since 87-percent of Christmas decorations come from China. In addition, holiday lights are among those with steep tariffs as high as 63-percent.
CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS
A new survey showed that 87-percent of consumers plan on spending 270-dollars just on decor, including Christmas trees. There is some encouraging news. Retailers Home Depot, Walmart and Lowe’s are advertising pre-Black Friday sales now, including holiday decor.
