Budgets/Spending/Market Size

Schaumburg, Ill. -- Online, club, dollar, toy and consumer electronics retailers, as well as categories such as gift cards, technology, vacations and toys, will all perform well this season, according to Nielsen’s fourth-annual Holiday Shopping Sales Survey.

Across all income levels, only 5% of U.S. households plan to spend more this year, with affluent households (those earning $100,000 or more) leading the way.

Chicago -- Amid economic uncertainty and low consumer confidence levels, retail CFOs are expecting a 3% increase in total 2011 sales, according to a recent survey by BDO USA, LLP. While the number reflects the study’s most optimistic sales forecast since 2007, it is down from the 4.7% sales increase reported by the Commerce Department in 2010.

Chicago -- Retail sales will rise 3% percent during November and December compared to the year-ago period, but foot traffic will decrease 2.2%, according to ShopperTrak.

ShopperTrak's holiday sales increase prediction follows 19 consecutive months of year-over-year U.S. retail sales growth. The expected increase is moderate compared with the 2010 holiday season's 4.1% sales increase over 2009.

CHICAGO — In the wake of several surveys projecting how shoppers will spend this holiday season, the latest study from ShopperTrak expects national retail sales to increase 3% during November and December, while foot traffic will drop 2.2%.

ShopperTrak said its 3% holiday sales increase prediction follows 19 consecutive months of year-over-year U.S. retail sales growth, adding that the expected increase is moderate when compared with the 2010 holiday season's 4.1% sales increase over 2009.

New York City -- Shopping-center sales in November and December are expected to increase 2.2% relative to the same period a year ago, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers. In 2010, the holiday season posted a 5% gain following two back-to-back declines during the 2007-09 recession.

The organization has forecast that U.S. holiday sales in 2011 will post a moderate 3% gain, down from 2.1% last year.
 

New York City -- Holiday retail hiring is expected to be flat or even slightly lower compared with last year, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas’ annual holiday hiring forecast.

The outplacement consulting firm said 627,000 seasonal retail jobs were created from October through December in 2010. The total was up 27% from 2009, and nearly double the 26-year low that occurred in 2008.

Washington, D.C. -- Import cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is beginning to see cautious increases over last year again, ending a summer-long downturn as retailers prepare for the holiday season, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.

New York City -- The International Council of Shopping Centers said it expects holiday sales to increase 3% this year, which is below the 4.1% gain in 2010.

Holiday sales are expected to reach $250.2 billion, the highest since the 2007 peak, when spending totaled $251.7 billion, according to the group, whose forecast is among the first to come out for the holiday 2011 shopping season.

The ICSC predicted that holiday same-store sales will rise 3.5%, slightly lower than the 3.8% pace in 2010.