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Monday, August 24, 2015

Happy Holiday Season Expected For Retailers


This year’s holiday retail season is expected to be strong in the US. eMarketer forecasts that US retail sales in the months of November and December 2015 will increase 5.7% year over year, reaching $885.70 billion. That’s an upward adjustment from the 3.2% growth rate predicted earlier this year—and the highest since the 6.3% rise in 2011.

“Retail sales in November and December 2015 are expected to show a healthy increase over what was experienced during the same period in 2014. This expectation is driven primarily by the fact that gas station sales, which make up roughly 12% of overall retail sales, dropped rather dramatically in late 2014. Increases in real income from wages, further decreases in unemployment and an increased willingness to spend in traditional retail categories that missed out on the windfall in gas prices earlier on in the year should also drive growth," said eMarketer analyst Monica Peart.

While US retail ecommerce holiday season sales growth will dip slightly this year to 13.9%, vs. 14.4% in 2014, the segment will play an increasingly important role this season. eMarketer estimates that ecommerce will hit 9.0% of total retail sales this season, or $79.40 billion, up from 8.3% share last year.

Mobile will play a part in ecommerce growth this holiday season. eMarketer expects US retail mcommerce sales to rise 32.2% in full-year 2015—more than double the 14.2% increase forecast for retail ecommerce sales as a whole.

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