NRF Revises Holiday Sales Forecast Upwards

The National Retail Federation (NRF) announced today that it has revised its holiday sales forecast and expects total holiday retail sales to increase 6 percent over last year to $439 billion.

This is the first time that NRF has ever officially upgraded its forecast during the holiday season (retail industry sales that occur in the months of November and December). It had previously forecast a 5 percent sales gain on September 21.

The revision comes in light of increasing retailer optimism, resulting from a flurry of healthy economic indicators including strong October retail sales and falling gasoline prices.

"Recent consumer spending has surpassed our expectations and we expect this momentum to continue through the holiday season," said NRF President and CEO Tracy Mullin. "Though our forecast remains cautious, we are confident that the holiday sales increase will be better than we originally anticipated."

"As gasoline prices decrease, consumers are finding a little extra padding in their budgets," said NRF Chief Economist Rosalind Wells. "Nearly every retail category has seen strong sales growth in the past few months, indicating that retailers will see positive gains as consumers continue to spend this holiday season."