Budgets/Spending/Market Size

Washington, D.C. -- A survey released by Shop.org and conducted by BIGinsight found that 129.2 million shoppers say they’ll head to retailers’ websites on Cyber Monday, up from the 122.8 million who shopped last year, and the 106.9 million who shopped on Cyber Monday in 2010.
 
The majority (85%) of retailers will have a special promotion for Cyber Monday, according to a prior survey.

Washington -- Consumer spending could drop by almost $200 billion next year while depressing real consumer-spending growth by 1.7% if middle-class taxes rise in response to the fiscal cliff, according to a report released Monday by a White House economic team.

ARLINGTON, Va. — Retail Industry Leaders Association president Sandy Kennedy has responded to the White House report predicting the massive tax increases consumers could face if policymakers fail to avert the fiscal cliff.

The report was authored by the National Economic Council and the National Council of Economic Advisors.

Reston, Va. -- Online retail spending for the November – December period will reach $43.4 billion, a 17% gain versus year ago, according to comScore. The increase represents an improvement compared with last season’s 15% rise, and is also far ahead of the retail industry’s expectation for a 4.1% increase in consumers’ overall spending this holiday season.

Washington, D.C. -- The National Retail Federation reported that more than 35 million Americans visited retailers’ stores and websites on Thursday – up from 29 million last year – scoring deals on everything from hot electronic items to cashmere sweaters and toys.

According to an NRF survey conducted by BIGinsight over the weekend, traffic and spending grew over the entire weekend. More people than ever before also shopped online and in stores on Black Friday, as 89 million shoppers braved the crowds, up from 86 million last year.

WASHINGTON — The National Retail Federation has issued a statement from president and CEO Matthew Shay on the new White House report, “The Middle-Class Tax Cut’s Impact on Consumer Spending & Retailers.”

New York -- Houston claimed the top spot for the second year in a row, followed by Seattle and San Francisco, in a ranking of the most mobile shopping savvy cities in the United States. The survey was conducted by The Interactive Advertising Bureau and its Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence, in partnership with Prosper Mobile Insights.

Chicago -- A report released Saturday by ShopperTrak found that Black Friday proved to be a mixed bag for retailers, as retail foot traffic increased over last year, but retail sales decreased slightly.

ShopperTrak estimates that, when compared with Black Friday last year, retail foot traffic rose 3.5% to more than 307.67 million store visits. Retail sales decreased 1.8%, however, with shoppers spending an estimated total of $11.2 billion on Friday.