Christmas Holiday sales projected to drop 3% – 4%
By Felicia Nwosu
As the year begins to wind down for Christmas shopping, the National Retail Federation has projected that holiday sales growth will slow to a range of 3% to 4%, compared with 5.4% growth of a year ago. This is according to a recent report made available by yahoo finance.
The forecast, which indicated a negative turn-out, meant that sales in November and December will increase to between $957.3 billion and $966.6 billion. The report added that the surge will be sustained with the average annual holiday increase of 3.6% from 2010 to pre-pandemic 2019.
The retail body attributed the decrease in sales to the fact that Americans ramped up spending during the pandemic, which accounted for some outsized sales numbers, confirming that for the holiday 2021 season, sales for the two-month period surged 12.7%.
The forecast from the retail trade group mentioned several factors responsible for the drop in sales which include wages, consumer confidence, disposable income, consumer credit, previous retail sales and weather. But it noted that these exclude automobile dealers, gasoline stations and restaurants.
Although this estimation is a testament to a pending projection carried over from last year made available from various research and consulting firms that point to a sales slowdown from last year.
Analysts say that shoppers could become rattled if the Israel-Hamas war is not contained, particularly heading into the critical holiday season. And consumers are turning more to savings and credit cards to help finance their spending. In fact, retailers have reported a rise in credit card delinquency rates.
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