Dive Brief: The International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) last week forecast that holiday shopping will rise 4.5% to $807 billion , with $685 billion spent on gifts and other holiday items and $122 billion on food and beverage. But, while high levels of consumer confidence are propelling the increase, holiday shoppers will remain keen on discounts, ICSC also found: 74% say that promotions play a role in their holiday shopping, 63% plan around promotional events like Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Super Saturday and other big sales, and 47% say that in-store promotions influence their holiday purchases. Global consulting firm AlixPartners, meanwhile, sees the retail sales boom of earlier months — pegged at 4.9% year-over-year through August — easing somewhat , predicting a November-through-January sales increase of 3.1% to 4.1% over last year. Dive Insight: Retailers that can accommodate shoppers with online sales and delivery options in addition to stores are poised to do best this season, according to ICSC. By far the most holiday shoppers (84%) will head to a mall or shopping center, ICSC​ found. Of the 40% who will take advantage of click-and-collect services, 82% say they’ll probably spend additional money when they do, the organization also found. November elections, higher costs from wages, tariffs, materials and freight increases and pressure from high sales rates in the third quarter are all looming over the fourth, according to AlixPartners and Wells Fargo researchers. “Retailers will have to do all they can to take advantage of this holiday season, as there won’t be any letting up from the competition, plus with the November elections coming up there’s no telling whether we might see some hiccups in the economy,” AlixPartners Managing Director David Bassuk said in a statement. “But those retailers who take a holistic approach to their operations […]

Read Full Story:  Holiday sales growth could temper this year

Source:  Retail Dive