WINNEMUCCA - Despite wavering national forecasts, the Retail Association of Nevada (RAN) continues to forecast growth of up to 7 percent in holidays sales in Nevada this year, according to a RAN news release.
Bryan Wachter of RAN notes, "We remain optimistic for a strong holiday shopping season in Nevada, despite the modest growth in holiday sales expected nationwide. In September, retail-specific taxable sales in the state reported a significant 5.8-percent annual increase, and we expect similar trends to continue through the remainder of the year."
The four-day Black Friday weekend left retailers with mixed feelings, but according to the National Retail Federation (NRF), traffic increased to 141 million unique shoppers (up 1.4 percent year-over-year), according to the news release.
On the flip side, average spending per shopper fell to $407.02 (down 3.9 percent year-over-year) over the four-day span. Gallup's third and final consumer spending poll before Christmas should give retailers a little bit of comfort as they enter the final stretch of 2013.
The latest Gallup results indicate that average spending per person is expected to be close to $740, which is lower than the $786 estimated in October but higher than the $704 surveyed in November.
Overall, Gallup estimates that holiday sales will grow by between 2.3 percent and 2.7 percent compared to last year. The latest Gallup estimates are in line with the 2.4-percent increase expected by ShopperTrak. However, the NRF is expecting a more positive growth forecast of about 3.9 percent year-over-year, according to the news release.
RAN continues to remain more optimistic with its in-state forecast, predicting that holiday spending in the Nevada will grow by up to 7.0 percent this year, with total sales rising from the $1.59 billion forecasted last year to about $1.70 billion.
The estimate is based on strong annual growth in retail-specific taxable sales witnessed in the first eight months of the year.
Predictions were reinforced when the core retail sectors reported year-over-year growth of 5.8 percent in September, with the largest gains attributable to increases witnessed by non-store retailers reporting taxable sales in Nevada (+25.4 percent); food and beverage stores (+12.7 percent); and building material and garden equipment suppliers (+10.2 percent).
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