Holiday Sales Expected To Slow 3% To 4%, Compared With 5.4% Growth A Year Ago
November 2, 2023 10:01AM PDT
The iconic Portland Tree lights up Downtown Portland at The Square, Portland’s Living Room. (Photo: Business Wire)
NEW YORK (AP) — The National Retail Federation, the nation’s largest retail trade group, expects holiday sales growth will ease to a range of 3% to 4%, compared with 5.4% growth a year ago.
Sales in November and December should increase to between $957.3 billion and $966.6 billion.
The pace is consistent with the average annual holiday increase of 3.6% from 2010 to the pre-pandemic 2019.
Americans ramped up spending during the pandemic, which accounted for some outsized sales numbers.
For the holiday 2021 season, sales for the two-month period surged 12.7%.
The forecast, released Thursday, comes as shoppers keep spending, powered by sturdy hiring, low unemployment and healthy household finances.
But shoppers face lots of headwinds.
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