WASHINGTON — The Saturday before Christmas continues to be the biggest shopping day of the year, according to survey results released by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics, which estimates that 147.8 million U.S. consumers are expected to participate this year, up from 134.3 million last year. “While many people started holiday
NEW YORK — Consumers are expected to increase their spending this holiday season, bolstered by an economy that is showing signs of strength. The National Retail Federation (NRF) expects sales in November and December (excluding cars, gasoline and restaurant sales) to increase 3.6% to $655.8 billion. That is significantly higher than the 10-year average of
NEW YORK — Drug chains were not immune to the shift in holiday shopping away from brick-and-mortar retailing, as sales growth barely exceeded 4%. That was down from last season’s 4.4% advance in holiday retail sales, and well off the 5.4% gain of five years ago. Same-store sales were up 1.8%, virtually unchanged from 2014.