Consumer Behavior

NRF: It’s going to be a successful retail holiday season

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December 12, 2024

Strong results during the third quarter and continued growth in key economic data since have set the stage for a solid holiday season, according to National Retail Federation Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz.

"Even though the traditional kick-off to the holiday season started with Black Friday, this holiday shopping season was already in full swing," Kleinhenz stated in the December edition of NRF's Monthly Economic Review. He added many shoppers started earlier because a late Thanksgiving has left five fewer shopping days before Christmas than last year, according to a press release on the report's findings.

"U.S. economic growth remained strong in the third quarter, with gross domestic product expanding more than many estimates of the economy's long-run potential capacity," Kleinhenz said in the release. "Personal consumption continues to provide the horsepower behind the economy, as it has throughout this expansion."

A near-record 197 million people shopped during the holiday weekend from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday, and 58% of holiday shoppers had started by early November.

"Consumers' view of the economy has improved and they remain supportive of retail sales," Kleinhenz said in the release.