National Retail Federation Upgrades Holiday Forecast, Expects Sales To Rise 3.8 Percent To $469.1 Billion

Strong November Sales, Expected December Spending Lead to Revision With just 10 days until Christmas, the National Retail Federation has revised its holiday forecast upward, expecting holiday sales to rise 3.8 percent this year to a record $469.1 billion. NRF's initial forecast, announced on October 6, called for anticipated sales growth of 2.8 percent. While a 3.8 percent sales increase is considerably above the ten-year average sales increase of 2.6 percent, it is still lower than the 5.2 percent increase the retail industry saw last year. "After strong sales reports in October and November, along with a successful Black