“ Overall, the National Retail Federation has forecast that retail sales will be up six to eight percent this year compared with last year.”
Hey, wait, wasn’t inflation ALSO 8 percent?? That means even their prediction is essentially flat. No growth from last year.
Based on my personal experience on Friday/Saturday, I don’t see how sales could be up in any significant way. The Academy/Walmart/etc parking lots weren’t even as full as a busy weekend.
Frankly, I think starting “Black Friday” sales, the week after Halloween, is spreading things out a bit too much, and I also think many folks have blown their Xmas money on food/gas, this year. Guess we’ll see, but I don’t think the final tally is going to be enough to significantly outpace inflation (a more than 8% rise in Xmas spending)..
