2010 holidays to be kinder to retail
Reuters — U.S. retailers might get a gift from consumers this year: A boring but steady holiday season with a gentle uptick in sales, according to industry experts at the Reuters Consumer and Retail Summit.
That would come as a relief after the drama of 2008, when holiday sales plummeted during the worst days of the financial crisis, and 2009, when stores from Macy’s Inc (M.N) and Saks Inc (SKS.N) to Abercrombie & Fitch Co (ANF.N) waited for shoppers to return.
“It’s going to be the most boring holiday season we’ve had in quite some time,” said Janet Hoffman, global managing director for Accenture’s (ACN.N) retail practice.
“(That’s) going to be really good news for many retailers because what they’re going to see is incremental lift in sales.”
The experts agree that sales over the 2010 holidays will be better than last year’s, but still a far cry from 2007 levels.
