Holiday Spending Predicted to Increase

The National Retail Federation (Washington, D.C.) released its predictions for holiday spending to increase 3.7 percent this November and December to $630.5 billion. Online sales are also expected to increase between 6 and 8 percent this year.

This spending is anticipated to make up approximately 19 percent of the retail industry’s annual sales.

Over the past 10 years, the average increase in holiday spending has been 2.5 percent per year, although last year’s holiday spending increased 4.1 percent.

The spending projections exclude auto, gas and restaurant sales.