- Experts are forecasting that the 2002 holiday selling season will show an “anemic” 1.5 percent increase over 2001, the smallest gain since 1970. The National Retail Federation (NRF) had forecast a four percent increase, though the gap may be more a matter of how sales are calculated as opposed to whether the season was any good or not.
With even retailers such as Wal-Mart showing disappointing increases, and companies such as Kmart facing a sales environment that could threaten their very existence, the question now seems to be whether retailers will be able to generate consumer excitement and volume by offering post-Christmas deals.
