Again this year, the 7,500-member Ohio Council of Retail Merchants hired the University of Cincinnati Economics Center for a forecast of holiday spending.
They expect Ohioans to spend more than $32 billion this year 鈥� an increase of less than 1%.
Brad Evans, the center's Director of Research, said consumer confidence remains below pre-pandemic levels.
"Pair that with high inflation, high interest rates... I think psychologically some consumers maybe are pulling back some of those purchases a little bit," he said.
Evans said Columbus fared better than most metros in the study, with retail growth expected to be more than 5% 鈥� second only to Youngstown.
For more of the report's findings, .
