Black Friday is not too far off, and some analysts & economist are predicting solid consumer demand – something that should add to retailers' 'celebrations'.
The National Retail Federation is expecting holiday sales to increase in the range of +4.3% to +4.8% compared to 2017, which are higher growth rates than the past five years. Software firm Adobe projects online shopping sales to climb +14.8% during the holiday season from the year-ago period.
Several Retail giants look all set to milk the holiday mood, by offering special facilities and offers to boost shopping experience and draw in more customers. Amazon ‘s special Christmas shopping offer includes free shipping on all orders, waiving the minimum purchase limit of $25 that otherwise applies to non-Prime users. Target is offering free two-day shipping on all orders from November 1 to December 22. Walmart will be offering potentially faster shopping experience for the holiday season by introducing mobile scanners at stores - so shoppers can pay on spot (i.e., without having to queue up at registers), especially in the busiest sections of its stores/supermarkets .
Holidays are potentially a boon for businesses of restaurants and food chains too. Stock prices of Starbucks McDonald's and Coca-Cola are already trading around all-time highs.