Retail trade group: holiday sales could break new records
ABC News
The National Retail Federation expects that holiday sales gain could shatter last year’s record-breaking season even as a snarled global supply chain slows the flow of goods and results in higher prices for broad range of items
NEW YORK -- The National Retail Federation, the nation’s largest retail trade group, expects that holiday sales gain could shatter last year's record-breaking season even as a snarled global supply chain slows the flow of goods and results in higher prices for a broad range of items.
The trade group said Wednesday that it predicts that sales for the November and December period will grow between 8.5% and 10.5% to $843.4 billion and $859 billion. Holiday sales increased 8.2% in 2020 compared with the previous year when shoppers, locked down during the early part of the pandemic, splurged on pajamas and home goods, mostly online.
The group expects that online and other non-store sales, which are included in the total, will increase between 11% and 15% to a total of between $218.3 billion and $226.2 billion driven by online purchases.
The numbers exclude automobile dealers, gasoline stations and restaurants billion. Holiday sales have averaged gains of 4.4% over the past five years, according to the group.
