Holiday Retail Spend Topped Forecasts, but NRF Cautions on 'Uncertainty'

last year were $777.3 billion, at 8.2% growth. Average holiday sales growth over the past five years was 4.4%, it said. Retail sales as defined by NRF -- excluding automobile dealers, gasoline stations and restaurants -- were down 2.7% seasonally adjusted in December from November but up 13.4% unadjusted year-over year vs. a 0.3% month-over-month slip in November, which was up 14.8% from November 2020, it said. NRF forecast in October that 2021 holiday sales would increase 8.5%-10.5% over 2020 to $843.4 billion-$859 billion, then bumped the forecast in December to potential growth of 11.5%. Online and other nonstore sales spending was up 11.3% at $218.9 billion, the low end of NRF’s forecast of 11%-15% growth to $218.3 billion-$226.2 billion. “Despite supply chain challenges, retailers kept their shelves stocked and consumers were able to fill their carts both in-store and online,” Kleinhenz said. Holiday spending in 2021 showed “continued consumer demand that is driving the economy and should continue in 2022,” said the economist: “Nonetheless, we should be prepared for challenges in the coming months due to the substantial uncertainty brought by the pandemic.” Clothing and clothing accessory stores led holiday retail growth with a 33.1% increase; electronics and appliance stores had 15% growth year on year, it said.