According to National Retail Federation’s Chief Executive Officer Matt Shay, retailers are rolling out their Christmas-themed campaigns earlier than ever, and shoppers are responding in kind. USDA’s Gary Crawford is reporting with comments from Shay.
Although consumer surveys show that shoppers don’t intend to spend any less this year, Shay said that they will likely be looking for bargains. “We expect shoppers to be more price-conscious and pragmatic in their spending decisions this year,” he said.
The National Retail Federation considers the holiday shopping season to run from November 1 to December 31 and expects between a 2.5% and 3.5% increase in sales from last year’s holiday season which works out to between $980 billion and $990 billion in sales.
The projected rate of growth is less than it was last year and Shays says that is likely due to worries about inflation, despite it being almost nothing for the past few months. “Even food, is only up very modestly in several categories,” he explained.
Still, shoppers are expected to pay up to 3.5% more for holiday items this year, and online sales for those items continue to grow with an expected increase of 8% to 9% from a year ago.
