Dakotas Retailers Expecting Strong Holiday Sales

by Associated Press
November 23, 2012 8:15 AM


Retailers in the Dakotas are expecting strong holiday sales despite a summer of drought.
 
Mike Rud with the North Dakota Retail Association and Shawn Lyons with the South Dakota Retailers Association say it was a good year in the agriculture community despite the dry conditions. North Dakota's economy also is bolstered by the booming western oil patch. And the two states didn't experience the severe flooding this year that they did in 2011.
 
Rud says he expects holiday sales in North Dakota to be up 5 or 6 percent over last year. Lyons predicts the increase in South Dakota will be anywhere from 3 to 7 percent.