The National Retail Federation is expecting to see big holiday shopping numbers this year. Experts are predicting a 4.1 percent rise in sales from 2011. If the estimate is correct, holiday sales will reach $586.1 billion.
This continues an ongoing trend. In 2011, holiday sales increased by 5.6 percent, and in 2010, sales increased by 5.5 percent. NRF says holiday sales have increased an average of 3.5 percent annually for the last 10 years.
NRF’s preliminary Black Friday shopping survey, up to 147 million people plan to shop over the Black Friday weekend.
“Though the Black Friday tradition is here to stay, there’s no question that it has changed in recent years; already there is a tremendous amount of excitement and anticipation surrounding retailers’ Thanksgiving and Black Friday promotions,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. “It’s critical for retail companies to constantly evolve as consumers do, and right now shoppers want great deals, good value, and convenience — exactly what we’re seeing with this season’s late and early openings, price-matching, layaway, and mobile offerings.”
And the way shoppers are finding their deals is changing, too. Half (49.5 percent) of those surveyed said they’ll keep up with advertising circulars throughout the holiday season and three in 10 (30.5 percent) say they will use television advertisements to stay up-to-date with upcoming sales and events. There are also a growing number of Americans who prefer to see things digitally; 26.8 percent will follow retailers’ websites, and 31.4 percent will track emails from retailers in order to get the latest holiday announcements.
For more, visit www.nrf.com.