Brighter U.S. Retail Figures Expected

U.S. retail sales should rise 3.9 percent this holiday season, outpacing last year’s gains, though economic concerns may impact shoppers’ spending, the world’s largest retail trade association said on Thursday.

The National Retail Federation expects U.S. sales in November and December to rise 3.9 percent to $602.1 billion. That would surpass the 3.5 percent increase seen in 2012 and average growth of 3.3 percent over the past decade, but fall short of gains of more than 5 percent seen in both 2011 and 2010.

The NRF forecast is closely watched ahead of the holiday season. The season is critical to retailers, as it can account for anywhere from 20 to 40 percent of a retailer’s annual sales and accounts for about 20 percent of total industry annual sales, according to the trade group.

Reuters

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