U.S. retail braces for slow holiday season
October 6, 2009 - 0 comments
Washington -- High unemployment has put U.S. retailers on alert that the holiday shopping season will feature a sluggish recovery compared to a year ago, forecasters said.
The National Retail Federation's annual prediction calls for a 1 percent drop in holiday sales to $437.6 billion, The Washington Post reported Tuesday.
A drop of 1 percent looks dismal next to the average year when sales grow 3 percent. The same drop looks encouraging, however, when placed next to the 3.4 percent decrease in holiday shopping in 2008, the Post said.
With unemployment at 9.8 percent -- a 26-year high -- 81 percent of the respondents in a UBS/America's Research Group survey indicated they would cut back on spending due to personal debt.
"I think these people are serious about cutting back. Not only are we seeing fewer shoppers, we're seeing more shoppers go to stores and only buy the advertised deals," said C. Britt Beemer, chairman of America's Research Group.
Copyright 2009 by United Press International.
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