Cami Delli Gatti, left; Mercy Fetzer; Liza Barnett; and Elizabeth Fetzer stroll by means of the Metropolis Creek Middle in Salt Lake Metropolis on Black Friday. Regardless of the cussed, albeit easing shadow of inflation looming over the U.S. financial system, some Salt Lake Metropolis consumers nonetheless opted to enterprise out over the vacation weekend to assist companies native companies. (Laura Seitz, Deseret Information)
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SALT LAKE CITY — Regardless of the cussed, albeit easing shadow of inflation looming over the U.S. financial system, some Salt Lake Metropolis consumers nonetheless opted to enterprise out over the vacation weekend to assist native companies.
“I similar to the texture of getting in retailer and, like, the busyness. It is type of enjoyable to enter the mall,” Sean Hammond informed KSL whereas Black Friday purchasing.
Knowledge from the Nationwide Retail Federation stated that about 166 million individuals deliberate to buy from final Thursday’s Thanksgiving vacation by means of Cyber Monday, nearly 8 million greater than final yr.
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Liz Findlay, co-founder of Albion, a Utah-based ladies’s clothes firm, stated that the corporate’s buyer base in 2021 bounced again strongly from the pandemic, with the pattern persevering with over this vacation weekend.
“Visitors was fairly much like final yr, so we didn’t see an enormous inflow,” Findlay stated.
Albion has places at each Metropolis Creek and Style Place malls, and Findlay stated the patron turnout at Metropolis Creek was on par with final yr whereas Style Place noticed a slight downturn in consumers.
This may very well be resulting from a rise in on-line gross sales going down even earlier than the offers of Cyber Monday.
Customers spent a report $9.12 billion on-line on Black Friday, up 2.3% from final yr, in keeping with Adobe. E-commerce exercise continued to be sturdy over the weekend, with $9.55 billion in on-line gross sales.
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Findlay stated that she feels inflation has “undoubtedly” impacted total shopper sentiment, in addition to what shoppers are spending their cash on.
“Actually, I really feel like most individuals have much less disposable earnings,” Findlay stated. “I do assume that the client this yr is on the lookout for an enormous discount, so I do assume these those who had the 60, 70, 80% off — I’d assume that they’d lots higher gross sales, however they most likely have much more stock they need to undergo.”
Reuters on Monday reported that Cyber Monday spending — the most important U.S. on-line purchasing day — is ready to hit a report $11.2 billion this yr.
Nonetheless, some Salt Lake Metropolis companies loved a weekend of bustling enterprise.
Customers stroll by means of the Metropolis Creek Middle in Salt Lake Metropolis on Friday. Regardless of the cussed, albeit easing shadow of inflation looming over the U.S. financial system, some Salt Lake Metropolis consumers nonetheless opted to enterprise out over the vacation weekend to assist companies native companies. (Picture: Laura Seitz, Deseret Information)
The Tutoring Toy proprietor Invoice Sartain stated that his toy store loved a “very sturdy” Friday and Saturday.
“It was a extremely good two days,” Sartain stated, including that on Saturday, the shop had “three, 4, 5 occasions the variety of prospects within the retailer.”
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“Saturday was simply blockbuster,” he stated. “When loopy is loopy, you lose observe of how loopy it’s.”
Sartain stated that whereas most individuals assume Small Enterprise Saturday is about “serving to out the little, native man,” it additionally offers an incredible enhance for the area people.
“Seventy % of cash that’s spent in native shops is returned to the neighborhood,” Sartain stated. “From on-line retailers, as an illustration, solely 40% stays locally.”
Even with the profitable weekend, Sartain stated that the busiest days for the toy store are but to return.
“Often that final three weeks simply earlier than Christmas, it is nearly frantic. We’ll do, in sooner or later, what (we do in) a standard week within the offseason.”
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So, with consumers throughout the nation choosing extra on-line purchasing, how will shops like The Tutoring Toy and Albion appeal to prospects to their brick-and-mortar places?
Findlay stated that with a purpose to achieve success, she believes shops might want to make a concerted effort “to create a way of vacation spot for his or her retailer.”
“Simply having good product is not sufficient anymore and I feel prospects, in the event that they’re coming into the shop, it is as a result of they need a way of neighborhood,” Findlay stated. “I feel that is going to be regularly actually necessary for retailers.”
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Logan Stefanich is a reporter with KSL.com, overlaying southern Utah communities, training, enterprise and army information.
According to Jake Fischer during his NBA rumors chat on Bleacher Report, Collin Sexton and Jordan Clarkson are both available. But he also says that the Utah Jazz would prefer to keep Walker Kessler. (Big shoutout to David J. Smith for the notice on this one.)
Enjoyed @JakeLFischer‘s NBA rumors chat. He says Sexton and Clarkson are both available, but that he thinks the Jazz prefer to keep Walker Kessler. It would take a major package to entice them to move him (So not the ones I see many LAL fans suggesting).https://t.co/dQnlHeInf3
This is not something new regarding each of these players but it does provide some clarity with Kessler. But this idea that it would take a “major package” to get him reminds me of something. Oh, that’s right, all of last offseason where we heard the same thing with Lauri Markkanen. That ended up turning into nothing, and we’re seeing the same playbook. Utah is happy with Kessler, but if there’s a team out there to give a major overpay, it sounds like Utah won’t turn that down. Looking back at this offseason and how it panned out. Teams like the Warriors and Kings, who were very interested in Markkanen, certainly look like they might regret not paying the huge price tag.
As far as Sexton and Clarkson, it seems pretty obvious that Utah is likely going for the highest possible package they can get for Collin Sexton. That may take time but Utah needs to think about the ramifications of having Sexton potentially costing them losses down the road. Utah is in an extremely tight race for Cooper Flagg and should think about making a move sooner than later to make that more possible.
TikTok has long known its video livestreams encourage sexual conduct and exploit children yet turned a blind eye because it “profited significantly” from them, according to newly unsealed material in a lawsuit by the state of Utah.
The accusations were made public on Friday, ahead of a scheduled Jan. 19 ban on TikTok in the United States unless its China-based owner, ByteDance, sells the popular social media app.
President-elect Donald Trump has asked the US Supreme Court to put that ban on hold.
TikTok has long known its video livestreams encourage sexual conduct and exploit children yet turned a blind eye because it “profited significantly” from them, according to newly unsealed material in a lawsuit. AFP via Getty Images
TikTok, for its part, has said it prioritizes safe livestreaming.
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Utah’s original lawsuit accusing TikTok of exploiting children was filed last June by the state’s Division of Consumer Protection, with state Attorney General Sean Reyes saying the TikTok Live streaming feature created a “virtual strip club” by connecting victims to adult predators in real time.
Citing internal TikTok employee communications and compliance reports, Friday’s largely unredacted complaint said TikTok learned of the threats Live posed through a series of internal reviews into the feature.
It said a probe known as Project Meramec uncovered in early 2022 how hundreds of thousands of 13-to-15-year-olds bypassed Live’s minimum-age restrictions.
It said many children were then allegedly “groomed” by adults to perform sexual acts, sometimes involving nudity, in exchange for virtual gifts.
The complaint also said a probe launched in 2021, Project Jupiter, found that criminals used Live to launder money, sell drugs and fund terrorism including by Islamic State.
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According to the complaint, a probe known as Project Meramec uncovered in early 2022 how hundreds of thousands of 13-to-15-year-olds bypassed Live’s minimum-age restrictions. Shutterstock
In addition, an internal December 2023 study “documented what TikTok admits is ‘the cruelty’ of maintaining Live with its current risks for minors on the app,” the complaint said.
User safety
TikTok had fought the disclosures, citing confidentiality concerns and its interest in “preventing potential bad actors from getting a roadmap” to misuse the app.
A Utah state judge, Coral Sanchez, ordered the release of much of the previously redacted material on Dec. 19.
“This lawsuit ignores the number of proactive measures that TikTok has voluntarily implemented to support community safety and well-being,” a TikTok spokesperson said on Friday.
“Instead, the complaint cherry-picks misleading quotes and outdated documents and presents them out of context, which distorts our commitment to the safety of our community,” the spokesperson added.
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Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes says the TikTok Live streaming feature created a “virtual strip club” by connecting victims to adult predators in real time. AP
In October, a bipartisan group of 13 states and Washington, DC, separately sued TikTok for allegedly exploiting children and addicting them to the app.
“Social media is too often the tool for exploiting America’s young people,” Reyes said in a statement on Friday.
“Thanks to Judge Sanchez’s ruling, more of TikTok’s shocking conduct will now be public through this unredacted complaint,” he added. “(The) full extent of its culpability can be demonstrated at trial.”
President Joe Biden signed a law authorizing the TikTok ban last April, addressing concern TikTok could gather intelligence on American users and share it with the Chinese government.
The Supreme Court will hear arguments on whether to put the ban on hold on Jan. 10. It is expected to rule quickly.
Utah Hockey Club (17-15-6, in the Central Division) vs. Dallas Stars (23-13-1, in the Central Division)
Dallas; Saturday, 8 p.m. EST
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BOTTOM LINE: The Utah Hockey Club visit the Dallas Stars after Lawson Crouse’s two-goal game against the Calgary Flames in the Utah Hockey Club’s 5-3 win.
Dallas is 23-13-1 overall with a 10-3-1 record in Central Division play. The Stars have a 13-6-1 record in games they have fewer penalties than their opponent.
Utah has a 4-6-1 record in Central Division games and a 17-15-6 record overall. The Utah Hockey Club serve 10.9 penalty minutes per game to rank second in NHL play.
Saturday’s game is the third time these teams square off this season. The Stars won the previous matchup 3-2.
TOP PERFORMERS: Matt Duchene has 15 goals and 20 assists for the Stars. Roope Hintz has seven goals and one assist over the past 10 games.
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Dylan Guenther has 16 goals and 18 assists for the Utah Hockey Club. Clayton Keller has five goals and eight assists over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Stars: 6-3-1, averaging 2.8 goals, five assists, 2.7 penalties and 5.7 penalty minutes while giving up 2.1 goals per game.
Utah Hockey Club: 5-4-1, averaging 2.8 goals, 5.3 assists, 4.1 penalties and 9.5 penalty minutes while giving up 2.6 goals per game.
INJURIES: Stars: None listed.
Utah Hockey Club: None listed.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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