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Holiday cheer — mostly
It’s that time of the year again — specifically, time for the holiday forecasts to start pouring in.
Let’s start with the good news. Early reports are calling for a solid season, with Deloitte predicting a 3.6% to 4% increase in total retail sales over last year.
As for the upcoming presidential election, it may be a temporary distraction in the early part of the holiday shopping season, but it’s not expected to have a negative impact on total sales. In fact, if past years are any indication, retailers may even benefit from a pickup in postelection consumer spending.
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West Elm fine-tuning its stores for sound
Shoppers at select West Elm stores will soon have their very own listening rooms — with state-of-the art sound speakers. The home furnishings retailer announced a partnership with Sonos to sell the company’s sound speakers and components in its U.S. stores and website, and to install “Sonos listening labs” in 16 West Elm stores. The listening rooms will be outfitted with West Elm’s signature modern furnishings and accessories and Sonos home sound system products.
