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The National Retail Federation (NRF) has issued a statement based on recent economic data explaining that holiday sales should rise by 4.1% this year. That was compared to 3.1% last year during the same November-December time-frame.The figures exclude sales of autos, as well as gasoline and restaurant sales. Instead, they focus on the kind of typical retail shopping that sees consumers headed to the malls or going online to buy holiday gifts or take advantage of annual sales. The NRF also expects that this year’s holiday sales will represent 19.2 % of the retail industry’s annual sales totals predicted at $3.2 trillion.
“If those expectations are fulfilled,” says says Meghan Robinson, CEO of Sunovis Financial, “it will be the first year since 2011 that holiday sales grew by more than 4%. Part of the support for that kind of healthy increase is that small businesses can borrow more easily in order to fund special holiday season expenditures. Business owners can order and pay for more inventory, for example, or use small business loans to hire the additional employees they need for a successful holiday season.”
Representatives at the NRF say that the year got off to a somewhat bumpy start but that the retail sector has seen stable and more consistent performance in the 2nd half of the year. Consumers are still feeling some trepidation and uneasiness because of the slow economic recovery. But employment data is increasingly positive, and measures of consumer sentiment also confirm that overall, Americans are more upbeat heading into the year’s busiest and most important shopping season.
As the president of the NRF explained in a press statement, “Recognizing the need to keep household budgets in line, we expect shoppers will be extremely price sensitive as they have been for quite some time. Retailers will respond by differentiating themselves and touting price, value, and exclusivity.”
The way the NRF arrives at these kinds of prediction is by crunching a variety of numbers and statistics that look at such factors as the amount of disposable personal income, levels of consumer credit, and the track record for monthly retail sales. They also incorporate not just traditional in-store activity but also direct-to-consumer sales and online sales.
“Another healthy sign from the NRF,” adds Robinson, “is that retailers are expected to hire as many as 800,000 seasonal employees. That would be more than they hired last year, and this is especially good news because many of those seasonal jobs typically turn into full-time employment opportunities for hardworking Americans.”
Contact Info:
Name: Meghan Robinson
Email: Send Email
Organization: Sunovis Financial
Address: 7500 College Blvd Ste. 500
Phone: 855 243-7191
Website: http://www.sunovisfinancial.com
Release ID: 67540
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