Retailers are approaching the holiday season with cautious expectations, even as consumers indicate they plan to save money. That’s the message from analysts and from retailers themselves as consumers engage in Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals.
The National Retail Federation expects a 3.5% bump in online and in-store spending, between November and December. That would indicate the slowest growth in six years. At the same time, consumer sentiment is showing signs of improvement, as inflation is moderate and interest rates are low. The University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index was flat for the fourth straight month in November.
However, investors remain cautious, citing uncertainty about the state of the economy and President-elect Donald Trump’s policies, including some tariffs.
“I think we’re going to see more inflation as we go into next year, so I’m a little concerned from that standpoint,” said Donna Campbell, shopping with her daughter.
With Black Friday falling later in the month this year, retailers began rolling out promotions in early October. Adobe Analytics expects stores to discount up to 30 percent off list prices, with steep discounts online.
Walmart ( WMT ) CFO John Rainey told Yahoo Finance that he expects the books to remain stretched, even though the company raised its sales and profit for the holiday quarter.
“We are seeing it [shoppers] they are buying less because they are spending more money on food; there is less money to spend on some of the things you would like to see,” he said.
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