Will increasingly optimistic younger shoppers buoy holiday sales ... and the economy?

After the turkey trimmings are stowed in the fridge, some 138 million shoppers are expected to hit the mall on Friday — up 4 million from last year. With sluggish recovery across the economy, the 2010 holiday shopping season may go down as one of the most closely-watched in recent years, according to economist Dennis Hoffman, director of the Seidman Research Institute at the W. P. Carey School of Business. The big question is how much will shoppers spend? Evidence from the quarterly Arizona Consumer Confidence Poll conducted by the Behavior Research Center in Phoenix suggests that they just might open their wallets wider than last year.

After the turkey trimmings are stowed in the fridge, some 138 million shoppers are expected to hit the mall on Friday — up 4 million from last year. With sluggish recovery across the economy, the 2010 holiday shopping season may go down as one of the most closely-watched in recent years, according to economist Dennis Hoffman, director of the Seidman Research Institute at the W. P. Carey School of Business.

The big question is how much will shoppers spend? Evidence from the quarterly Arizona Consumer Confidence Poll conducted by the Behavior Research Center in Phoenix suggests that they just might open their wallets wider than last year.