HOLIDAY SALES OFF TO LACKLUSTER START

From Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday, U. S. shoppers spent 14 percent less than they did in 2019, the National Retail Federation (NRF) reported.
Shoppers spent an average of $312 each over the five-day stretch, about the same as in 2018. They numbered 186.4 million, down slightly from the 189.6 million who opened their wallets a year earlier.
On Black Friday, foot traffic in stores was 37 percent below last year’s volume, while the number of online shoppers rose 8 percent and topped 100 million.
Cyber Monday’s sales rose more than 15 percent above last year’s volume, reaching $10.8 billion to mark the richest online shopping day in U.S. history, Adobe Analytics reported.
On Thanksgiving Day itself, in-store shoppers were 55 percent fewer than last year, in part because many stores that had been open on Thanksgiving were closed this year.
Retailers expected the holiday weekend’s shopping volume to fall below last year’s total because more shoppers had taken advantage of early sales, NRF president Mathew Shay told the Wall Street Journal.
Fifty-five percent of shoppers surveyed over the holiday weekend said the virus pandemic would not affect their shopping plans.
The NRF has predicted that overall holiday sales’ dollar volume will rise between 3.6 and 5.2 percent above last year.
TREND FORECAST: We believe the NRF predictions are overstated, since holiday travel will be down nearly 70 percent this year, and nations and states are imposing strict capacity limitations for households. Furthermore, once upon a time not too long ago, there used to be business holiday parties where people exchanged gifts and enjoyed celebrating the Christmas spirit.