{"id":1673540,"date":"2014-12-11T20:25:07","date_gmt":"2014-12-12T04:25:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.retailpro.com\/News\/blog\/?p=1673540"},"modified":"2014-12-11T20:25:07","modified_gmt":"2014-12-12T04:25:07","slug":"retail-sales-look-merry-and-bright","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.retailpro.com\/News\/blog\/index.php\/2014\/12\/11\/retail-sales-look-merry-and-bright\/","title":{"rendered":"Retail Sales Look Merry and Bright"},"content":{"rendered":"

It may not be a blue Christmas after all.<\/p>\n

After some preliminary doom and gloom reported from some retailers last month, a pall was cast upon Commerce reported Thursday that November retail sales reached $449.3 billion \u2014 up 0.7 percent compared with October and an increase of 5.1 percent compared with November 2013. In addition, total retail sales from September through November are up 4.7 percent annually. That\u2019s much better than expected, on the heels of Black Friday and Thanksgiving shopping reports that were flat.<\/p>\n

\"Avoiding<\/a>

Avoiding a sales slump similar to that of the 2013 holiday season<\/p><\/div>\n

The National Retail Foundation reported similar findings to the Commerce department\u2019s. It said that retail sales rose .6 percent in November from the prior month. That\u2019s in line with the organization\u2019s forecast for the holiday shopping season overall, of a 4.1 percent increase in revenue from 2013.<\/p>\n

Experts noted that shoppers have taken advantage of some early discounts offered, and are pacing themselves in the weeks leading up to Christmas and Hanukah.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is important to remember that for most retailers, the holiday season is a marathon, not a sprint, and there are plenty of important holiday shopping days ahead of us, including the week leading up to Super Saturday \u2013 the day many expect will be the biggest shopping day of the season,\u201d NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay<\/a> said in a statement<\/span>.<\/p>\n

So shoppers are stretching out their spending \u2014 and they probably have a bit more to spend this year as well. Gas prices are down significantly, from an average of $3.27 on Dec. 2, 2013, to $2.67 today. Job creation is up also, with employment up 321,000, an average monthly gain of 224,000 during the prior 12 months. Those are positive signs that while spending may be steady, the NRF\u2019s prediction of greater sales may be on target.<\/p>\n

Now is the ideal time for retailers to take advantage of increased sales and take stock of their technological prowess. Those who can implement technology such as RFID tags, mobile check out and data analysis will realize cost savings in their daily procedures:<\/p>\n