Study: Holiday Sales to Rise

With the start last Friday of the infamous post-Thanksgiving rush—during which 75 percent of American consumers start the holiday shopping season, according to the National Retail Foundation—retailers are tallying their receipts as an indicator of what to expect by year’s end. Meanwhile, a new survey from the International Council of Shopping Centers shows that U.S. holiday sales are expected to rise 4 percent from last year’s disappointing increase, pegged by the NRF at about 2 percent.

The 4 percent forecast is the median consensus from 44 retail and real estate analysts whom the ICSC polled in October for its 10th annual holiday survey.