Again, from the Minnesota Shopping Center Newsletter, the following tidbits of information that also seem to help point the way to the future…

“Retailers are about to embark on the holiday season of the serious bargain hunter.  According to the National Retail Federations (NRF) 2009 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGResearch, U.S. consumers pland to spend an average of $682.74 on holiday-related shopping, a 3.2% drop from last year’s $705.01.

The NRF is projecting holiday retail sales to decline 1% this year to $436.7 billion.  While this number falls significantly below the ten-year average of 3.39% annual holiday-season growth, the decline is not expected to be as dramatic as last year’s 3.4% drop in holiday retail sales nor as severe as the 3.0% decline in annual retail-industry sales expected for all of 2009.  The anticipated $4 billion in holiday seasonal shopping sales is the slowest growth rate to date, according to a Forrester Research, Inc. study released in mid-October.”

Source:  Minnesota Shopping Center Association