Looking at data from ICSC, holiday sales for this year are essentially in line with last year’s numbers. A bit on the weaker side and while not terrible, it’s nothing to get excited about. In each of the past two years, we saw an increasing decline in sales 3-4 weeks before the Christmas holiday, but then ‘catch up’ in the 1-2 weeks prior to the big day. With one week left in December, retailers will need to blow their numbers out of the water in order to impress.
