The National Retail Federation expects a 2.3% increase in holiday sales, to a total of $447 billion. The federation released a forecast highlighting the areas of concern but with the highest expectations in nearly four years.
Sales were badly affected due to economic recession with only a 0.4% rise last year, and a 3.9% decline in 2008.
NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said the optimism is a good thing though higher unemployment rate and rattled consumer confidence may hamper the sales. Retailers are not expected to offer any major deals as they will most likely follow the tighter inventory control policy of last year, mobile shopping and other innovative ways of attracting customers notwithstanding.
The International Council of Shopping Centers has also released a positive sales forecast with a 3%-3.5% gain over last year, its highest since December 2006, when sales went up by 4.4%.
Research firms are not optimistic about a real boost in retail shopping given the less amount of money available with the shoppers. New York-based consulting firm Accenture puts the number of people who are planning to spend less or equal to last year's shopping to be as high as 83%.
Accenture survey says that more than half of those who are spending the same this shopping season are concerned with lower incomes and the economy. Up to 93% of people rely on discounts for holiday shopping with just 13% ready to pay any price to purchase their favorite items. The company took an online survey of 526 U.S. consumers last month with a margin of error of 3% on either side.
