NRF: Holiday Spending Still on Track for Growth

The National Retail Federation still sees steady sales growth for the winter holiday season — despite recent economic indicators that paint a different picture, said NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz.

Sales Rise in December to Help Fuel Solid Holiday for Retailers

Core retail sales – excluding restaurants, autos and gas – edged up 0.19% month-over-month and 2.4% year-over-year in December, according to the CNBC/Retail Monitor. That compared with increases of 0.73% month-over-month and 4.17% year-over-year in November.

Holiday Sales Growth To Slow This Year

Holiday retail sales are slated to increase at a slower rate than last year, retail industry groups and consultants say, as consumers continue to face strains from higher prices.

Consumers Cautious, but Still Spending

Concerns about high inflation and the Federal Reserve interest rate hikes intended to bring spending under control, but they haven’t stopped consumers, Chain Store Age reports.

Study: Holiday Shoppers Expect To Spend Less

Signaling shoppers’ budget concerns, a Gartner survey of 306 consumers during July found that more than a fourth (28%) expect to spend less this holiday season while 10% will spend more this year than in years prior.

Consumers Held the Line on Spending in August

Real average monthly spending was flat and rising core inflation coincided with a substantial decline in Morning Consult’s Consumer Purchasing Power Barometer in August, with both sticker shock and trading down behavior increasing.

Roku: Streaming Ads Having Holiday Impact

Holiday shoppers are streaming more and are increasingly apt to engage with interactive ads and look up brand or product reviews after seeing streamed ads, according to Roku’s 2022 fifth annual holiday consumer shopping study.

Inflation To Mute Holiday Retail Sales

Retail spending growth is expected to slow during the 2022 holiday season as higher costs continue to weigh on consumer budgets, according to a new forecast by Deloitte.

Kroger Making Data Available For Programmatic CTV Ads

Kroger Precision Marketing, the retail media business of supermarket giant Kroger, has opened its programmatic marketplace, enabling video and connected TV buyers to target ads using shopping data on consumer packaged goods.

Consumers Poised To Spend for Labor Day

The end of the summer may not be such a sad occasion for retailers. According to the 2022 Labor Day Weekend Consumer Survey Report from market research data and technology company Numerator, expected impacts from inflation and the pandemic on consumer Labor Day spending are on the decline.

Retail Sales Stall in July as Gas Prices Decline

U.S. retail sales were unexpectedly unchanged in July as falling gasoline prices weighed on receipts at service stations, but consumer spending appeared to pick up at the start of the third quarter, further Reuters reports.

Father’s Day Spending on Par With 2021

Consumer spending this Father’s Day (June 19) is expected to total $20 billion, nearly on par with last year’s record-setting figure of $20.1 billion, according to the annual consumer survey by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics.

April Retail Sales Rise Amid Consumer Resilience

U.S. retail sales rose strongly in April as consumers spent more on motor vehicles amid an improvement in supply and increased spending at restaurants, providing a powerful boost to the economy at the start of Q2, Reuters reports.