Journal Record: With the 2009 holiday shopping season just around the corner, there is growing concern about what the national and local retail markets can expect this year. The International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) offered a small ray of hope this week as they released a report stating that they believe U.S. holiday sales will rise 1 percent over 2008. Their prediction is one of the more hopeful forecasts considering Retail Forward recently announced it was predicting flat activity for the upcoming shopping season.
Mike Niemira, chief economist for ICSC, said the following about the upcoming holiday shopping season:
“This year’s holiday-spending season will be a lot better than last year. The wear and tear of the recession and financial crisis on the consumer psyche is slowly giving way to renewed hope, optimism and most likely gift buying.”
Hopefully, ICSC’s prediction will come true because if the national market endures another tough holiday shopping season, it will most likely result in more national retail downsizing and bankruptcies and create a much longer timetable for true recovery to occur.
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