2009.10.06
Forecast for the holidays
This year's holiday season may not be as bad as last year's.
The National Retail Federation reported today that it projects retail sales to decline by 1 percent to $437.6 billion. That's not as large of a decline as 2008, when holiday retail sales dropped 3.4 percent. But it's still below a 10-year average of 3.39 percent holiday sales growth.
During a conference call today, the NRF said that this latest forecast is a signal that the economy is beginning a slow recovery.
Still, expect retailers to have aggressive promotions this holiday season and to push low ticket items, such as Wal-Mart's recent promotion of 100 toys for $10, said Ellen Davis, an NRF spokeswoman.
Also, consumers will be shopping for the basics.
"This will be the holiday season of the blue jean, instead of the blue ray," Davis said, during the conference call.
