Retail

Bulletin From The Distant Past: Holiday Sales Will Fall

UnemplyFor some reason, retailers have been thinking that this holiday season would be bad but not brutal. Industry experts have been saying sales might only be up 2% or 3% year-over-year.

Someone must have been drinking the good stuff. Any man on the street could have told the retail industry that sales this year will be off, way off. People are too worried about their jobs and have no credit.

According to Reuters, "U.S. holiday retail sales will fall 1 percent this year, according to America’s Research Group, marking the first time the research firm has forecast a decline in almost a quarter century of surveys."

The figures are still much to optimistic. Perhaps, researchers do not want to drive retail firms to despair.

With car sales running off 30% and home sales in the worst shape in US history, it would be astonishing if the consumer did not pull back 10% or greater on their holiday purchases. They are remarkably poor and the holidays will not change that.

And, there will be a lot more jobs lost in the economy between now and mid-December.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Take This Retirement Quiz To Get Matched With An Advisor Now (Sponsored)

Are you ready for retirement? Planning for retirement can be overwhelming, that’s why it could be a good idea to speak to a fiduciary financial advisor about your goals today.

Start by taking this retirement quiz right here from SmartAsset that will match you with up to 3 financial advisors that serve your area and beyond in 5 minutes. Smart Asset is now matching over 50,000 people a month.

Click here now to get started.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.