New York – Holiday sales are expected to grow at the slowest pace in five years as shoppers fret about jobs, tight credit and slumping home prices, according to a forecast from the world’s largest retail trade group.
That could mean lower prices and big pre-Thanksgiving sales blitzes as merchants compete for a piece of the holiday budget.
The Washington-based National Retail Federation predicted Thursday that total holiday sales will be up 4.0 percent for the combined November and December period, the slowest growth since a 1.3 percent rise in 2002.
“I think consumers will be cautious,” said Rosalind Wells, chief economist at the NRF. “The average person will be a little more restrained. It’s not to say they will stop buying Christmas gifts, but the spending will be more practical.”
A big issue, according to Wells, is the job market, which showed its first drop in job creation in four years in August.
“Everyone knows the housing market is terrible. The big issue will become employment and income,” she said.
