Winter Holiday Retail Sales
Chart of the Week for November 30 - December 6, 2007
November 23rd marked "Black Friday", the start of the holiday shopping season and traditionally the day retail stores turn profitable for the year. The shopping spree that stretches into the weekend is considered a bellwether for holiday spending and influences retail product demands for the coming year. According to the National Retail Federation ("NRF"), Black Friday and the following weekend traffic was up 4.8% over last year as 147 million shoppers hit the stores. Expanded hours may have contributed as 14.3% of consumers were shopping before 4:00 AM on Friday.
As the chart above indicates, holiday and annual sales are increasing, however holiday spending as a percentage of total annual spending is decreasing. It appears the average consumer is opting to increase spending more throughout the year rather than during the holidays. Interestingly with all the recent negative economic headlines, the NRF is predicting this holiday season spending will grow by 4.0%, which is modestly below the 4.8% average over the past decade.
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