The National Retail Federation (NRF) predicts this year’s holiday retail sales to increase by 3-4% over last year, which saw sales reach $655.8 billion. The holiday season of Thanksgiving/Black Friday and Cyber Monday through Christmas accounts for 30-40% of total retail sales for the year. Retail expert Jan Kniffen told CNBC this weekend that online retail sales should grow another 20% this year. Traffic in malls was down 9% over the weekend, and many shoppers tended to showroom, looking at products live in the stores, but then ordering online for a better deal. 
Economist Diane Swonk also reported to the news network’s “Trading Nation” that millennials are continuing to harm brick and mortar retail stores by increasing online shopping, which she predicts will hit 50% of retail sales soon. The NRF reports those young shoppers are spending their money on apparel, electronics, books, music and video games. Home improvement retail still is going strong in stores, though, as they are investing in DIY projects for repairs and remodeling. Those DIY items tend to need in-store experiences to look at the products before buying them.
Source: CNBC.com
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