Support for KikiWED podcasts comes from Rancho LaPuerta, boated the number one wellness resort and spa by readers of travel and leisure magazine. In August, three or four people sharing a casita enjoy special vacation packages. Rancho LaPuerta.com. Switch to Comcast Business mobile and save hundreds a year in your wireless bill. Comcast Business, powering possibilities.

Restrictions apply.

Comcast business internet required.

Compar as two unlimited intro lines and lowest price 5D plans of top three carriers.

Tax on fees extra, reduce speeds after 30 gigabytes of usage.

Data thresholds may vary.

From KQD in San Francisco, I'm Alexis Madrigal.

Holiday shopping stories used to be about Furbies and the latest video game console.

But it's the 2020s, the climate is going haywire, and the economy is undergoing a major realignment,

so the stories are a little different this year.

Open up the Mercury News and the story about Christmas tree prices is actually about extreme weather events,

kinks in the global supply chain, and the pandemic.

We'll be talking about the new factors in holiday shopping

and what they say about how the U.S. economy is working right now.

That's all next after this news. Welcome to Forum. I'm Alexis Madrigal.

For some Americans at the top of the economic heap, the pandemic has been a boon.

Galloping stock market, reduced household spending, and increased government assistance

led people to build up $2 trillion worth of savings.

That's given retailers hope for record holiday spending.

At the same time, the pandemic hit lower income Americans hard and the government stimulus that kept many families afloat has dwindled.

So that's the complex demand side.

But the supply around these holidays

...