MONTGOMERY – The next stop in the Alabama Retail Association’s third annual Shop Alabama for the Holidays tour is Montgomery! Just in time for the busiest shopping weeks of the year, Alabama Retail will announce the statewide shopping initiative and new holiday hashtag campaign, #DoubleYourGift, at a news conference and community gathering. The event, hosted in partnership with Mayor Todd Strange and the City of Montgomery; Montgomery County and Commission Chairman Elton Dean, is set for 10 a.m. Nov. 15 at the Ice Palace inside Eastdale Mall.
Refreshments will be provided to those in attendance by Eastdale Mall restaurants including Chick-fil-A, Cinnabon and Great American Cookies; Santa will also make an appearance. Reporters and photographers are welcome.
WHAT: Shop Alabama for the Holidays Kickoff
WHO: Alabama Retail Association, City of Montgomery, Montgomery County, Eastdale Mall
WHERE: Eastdale Mall Ice Palace
WHEN: 10 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 15
The Alabama Retail Association predicts 2018 will be the strongest holiday shopping season on record for the state, with more than $12 billion dollars expected to be spent in the months of November and December. The numbers represent a 4.5% increase in holiday spending this year than last.
Other stops on the Shop Alabama for the Holidays tour include Clanton, Cullman, Huntsville, Opelika and Orange Beach. Shop Alabama, an initiative of the Alabama Retail Association, encourages residents to create a powerful ripple effect in their community by keeping their shopping, dining and leisure dollars local. The annual Shop Alabama for the Holidays tour also celebrates the experiences, traditions and contributions local businesses bring to the holiday season. Retail, including food and drink establishments, supports one in four jobs in Alabama and brings in $19 billion, or 9.5 percent of Alabama’s gross domestic product, placing retail in the state’s top five highest-producing industries outside of government. When you #ShopAlabama you STRENGTHEN your local economy, SUPPORT your community and INVEST in the vibrancy of your city!
MEDIA CONTACT: Melissa Johnson Warnke | 256.338.0621 (c) | 334.551.0631 (o)
The Alabama Retail Association represents retailers, the largest private employer in the state of Alabama, before the Alabama Legislature and the U.S. Congress. Through sales of food, clothing, furniture, medicine and more, our 4,200 independent merchant and national company members touch almost every aspect of daily living. Since 1943, we’ve worked to promote what’s best for the retail industry in Alabama. Whether voicing the retail view when public policy is made, educating members about issues that impact them, negotiating rates for benefits and services or communicating the retail story, the Alabama Retail Association and its members are better together.