Doug Hart

Retailers increased their inventory purchases by an average of 2.8 percent for the coming holidays, according to a survey by accounting and consulting firm BDO USA, released Tuesday.

According to BDO Seidman, LLP, one of the nation’s leading accounting and consulting organizations, chief marketing officers (CMOs) at leading U.S. retailers expect both overall sales and comparable store sales to increase by 2.6 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively, for the 2009 holiday season. Last year, the retailers included in the BDO Seidman Retail Compass Survey of CMOs predicted that overall sales for the 2008 holiday season would decrease by 2.8 percent – and they were right. According to the National Retail Federation, 2008 holiday retail sales were down 2.8 percent from the 2007 holiday season.